Guest Columnist: Hamas’s useful Americans

By NITSANA DARSHAN-LEITNER The Jerusalem Post 07/15/2011 16:51
http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Opinion/Article.aspx?id=229401

From Boston Harbor to the jail cells of Birmingham to the public squares of
Cairo, the American people have had a centuries-old love affair with the
idea of regular citizens engaging in civil disobedience to bring down unjust
laws, discriminatory policies and brutal regimes, through non-violent
protests. It comes as no surprise, then, that a small group of Americans
were involved in raising funds, outfitting ships and serving as crew and
passengers on the boats for the flotilla that intended to breach Israel’s
maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Tragically, rather than engaging in authentic efforts to win freedom for an
oppressed people, or acting to safeguard the liberties of an endangered
minority, these Americans, wittingly or unwittingly, are lending material
support and providing resources to Hamas and its goal of eradicating the
Jewish state. If imperiling the security of innocent Israelis weren’t
enough, Hamas’s “useful Americans” are also violating numerous federal laws
and recklessly endangering their own lives.

Pursuant to the Oslo Accords negotiated and signed between Israel and the
PLO, the Palestinians agreed that the Gaza coastline would be placed under
Israeli control and that no foreign ships would be allowed closer than 12
nautical miles from the shore. Israel demanded this out of concern over
widespread import of conventional and unconventional weapons into Gaza. Had
it not been for this provision, there would be no Palestinian Authority
today, and Israel would not have withdrawn from Gaza.

Because of this agreement, the Gaza maritime blockade is consistent with
international law, and violating it constitutes a hostile action against the
State of Israel. As such, Israel is permitted to utilize all necessary force
to repel any seafaring intruders.

The UN’s soon-to-be-released Palmer Report, which investigated last year’s
flotilla, will confirm that this is true.

THE AMERICANS who organized the boats seemingly refuse to accept the
validity of Israeli jurisdiction over the coastline and are determined to
dangerously confront the Israel Navy and reach Gaza.

Ironically, those organizing and outfitting the ships, who claim that Israel
is in violation of international law and Palestinian rights, have themselves
run roughshod over numerous provisions of the federal penal code as they
attempt to deliver material support and resources to the Hamas government,
which is responsible for thousands of missile attacks on Israeli cities.

The Neutrality Act, legislated in 1789, prohibits American citizens from
organizing or donating funds or participating in any military or naval
expedition against an allied foreign nation. Although originally passed by
Congress as an anti-piracy statute, its ancient provisions remain in force
today. Related sections of the federal criminal code outlaw the furnishing
of a sea vessel with the intent that it be employed to commit hostilities
against a people with which the United States is at peace. The organizers of
the Gaza flotilla have ignored these laws, as they openly raised funds via
websites and public appeals.

Delivering goods and other cargo by ship to the Hamas government in Gaza,
without the supervision of the Israeli army, would also constitute a
violation of the American federal code. The Anti Terrorism Act of 2002
prohibits the provision of any material support or resources to a designated
terrorist organization.

A recent US Supreme Court decision ruled that material support could be
something as benign as legal advice and would certainly include weapons,
funds or bunker-building supplies. If anyone were killed, as nine were last
year, the organizers could be charged with murder.

These laws were enacted to ensure that US citizens would not engage in
hostile campaigns against American allies lest the US be dragged deeper into
foreign conflicts.

Moreover, they serve to ensure that terrorist organizations are not funded
or supplied by American citizens or residents.

When these laws go unenforced because of some romanticized notion that the
lawbreakers are modern-day Gandhis, Kings and Mandelas, they imperil not
just innocent Israelis who bear the brunt of the murderous Hamas attacks,
but the safety of all peoples in the region.

The residents of the Negev communities have suffered more than a decade of
deadly missile attacks from Gaza. The unsupervised provision of materials or
support to Hamas endangers their safety.

Peace treaties, to which the United States government served as an active
intermediary, cannot be ignored. It is wholly negligent of the US Department
of Justice not to have investigated and prosecuted the flotilla organizers.
Israel’s citizens cannot accept that American law enforcement is turning a
blind eye and providing safe harbor to those who would abet their
destruction.

The best way to head off the next flotilla is to pursue legal proceedings
against its organizers. It is up to the law enforcement agencies around the
world to make sure that laws are followed.

The writer is an Israeli attorney and the director of Shurat HaDin – Israel
Law Center.