ISM AGITATORS' JUDGMENT SECURED BY UNLAWFUL MEANS
DISMISSED BY ISRAELI COURT

A default judgment obtained by a foreign
International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist
against a local journalist has been dismissed by a
Beit She'an Magistrate's Court. The Court found that
the judgment had been obtained in violation of local
civil procedure rules.

The attorney representing the plaintiff, who was
grossly mistaken concerning the regulations, was the
grandson of controversial Jewish philosopher
Yeshaiyahu Liebowitz.

The Court ordered the judgment to remain canceled
and the evidence stage to finally go forward. The
trial will commence in the Fall.

In December 2003, an American ISM activist brought
suit against Jerusalem journalist Judy Lash Balint
over an article posted on a website detailing the
connections between the ISM and the Palestinian
terrorist groups. The foreign plaintiff alleged that
Balint had libeled her by asserting that she assisted
the terrorists.

The case, however, has been delayed while the attorney
for the plaintiff insisted that he had somehow secured
a default judgment at a time when the Israeli courts
were on strike. The canceling of the plaintiff's
mistakenly granted order will now permit the defense
to document the truth and accuracy of Balint's piece.

In April 2003, Israel¡¦s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
reported that the Palestinian funded militant group
works closely with the terrorist organizations: ¡§ISM
members take an active part in illegal and violent
actions against IDF soldiers. At times, their activity
in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip is under the
auspices of Palestinian terrorist organizations.¡¨

According to Balint's attorney, Nitsana
Darshan-Leitner: "There are important issues of
freedom of _expression riding on this case. Moreover,
the ISM has already been identified by the Shin Bet
and Foreign Ministry as closely working with Hamas and
the terrorist Fatah Tanzim. This baseless libel suit
will provide the opportunity to present the growing
evidence of the collusion between the ISM militants
and the Palestinian suicide bombers."

Attorney Darshan-Leitner also represents the family of
an Israeli soldier currently on trial for the alleged
shooting of ISM militant, Tom Hurndall, in April 2003.
She is calling upon Israel's Foreign Minister to
outlaw the extremist organization.

JOURNALISTS OR OTHERS WISHING TO CONTACT THE ISM
PLAINTIFF CAN CALL (IN U.S.) Radhika: (001)
917.669.6903

FOR MORE INFO: info@israellawcenter.org