“Each of the more than 100 plaintiffs in this suit is a U.S. citizen, or the family member of a U.S. citizen, and is therefore eligible to bring suit for the deaths, physical and emotional injuries, and hostage-takings Hamas caused during its barbaric rampage,” the ADL said in statement.
A group of U.S. citizens have filed a federal lawsuit against the governments of Iran, Syria, and North Korea, claiming that they supplied Hamas militants with the money and means to execute the October 7 attack on Israel.
“This landmark litigation […] is really about holding accountable the Islamic Republic, as well as Syria and North Korea, for the role they played in providing finances and training and, of course, munitions to Hamas, enabling the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Anti-Defamation League CEO and National Director Jonathon Greenblatt said in a statement.
According to The Associated Press, the lawsuit was filed earlier this week in a New York federal court. The plaintiffs include American citizens who survived the attacks, as well as the family members of several killed. They are being represented by the Anti-Defamation League and Crowell & Moring LLP.
“Each of the more than 100 plaintiffs in this suit is a U.S. citizen, or the family member of a U.S. citizen, and is therefore eligible to bring suit for the deaths, physical and emotional injuries, and hostage-takings Hamas caused during its barbaric rampage,” the ADL said in statement.
Anti-Defamation League officials said that the claim seeks to hold “state sponsor[s] of terror” liable for purportedly providing material aid and other resources to Hamas, the Islamist militant faction that has governed Gaza for nearly 20 years.
“Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of antisemitism and terror—along with Syria and North Korea, they must be held responsible for their roles in the largest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust,” said ADL-CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt. “We are doing everything possible to hold Hamas terrorists and those who support them accountable, including putting all of the ADL’s weight behind this effort.”
“In a world in which Jewish pain and suffering is far too often erased, we hope this ground-breaking case will bring justice to some victims and create a record of Hamas’ heinous brutality perpetrated with the support of these state sponsors of terrorism,” he said.
Attorneys say that a wide range of evidence supports claims of foreign involvement: South Korean officials and weapons experts, for instance, have already remarked on Hamas’ apparent use of the Pyongyang-made F-7 rocket-propelled grenade.
Iran and Syria have been accused of playing a more direct role in the conflict—by providing supplies to Hamas, providing logistical assistance, and encouraging violent attacks against Israeli interests throughout the region.
The ADL noted that, though U.S. law permits American victims of overseas atrocities to file claims against state sponsors of terrorism, it is typically difficult to recover compensation from foreign government.
“Foreign countries that sponsor terrorist activities typically refuse to honor judgments against them,” the ADL said. “The victims will then need the support of the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terror Fund—a fund Congress created in 2015 to allow American victims of terrorism such as those in this case to obtain some meaningful relief for their suffering.”
Sources
ADL sues Iran, North Korea and Syria over Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack
Lawsuit accuses Iran, Syria and North Korea of providing support for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel
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