Author Archives: hnklaw

Iran and Syria, Funders Of HAMAS, Hit with $165.9M Judgment in U.S. Court

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Court) has entered Judgment against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic, ordering the countries, both state sponsors of terrorism, to pay $165.9 million in compensatory and punitive damages in connection with the death of Max Steinberg.

Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the Court awarded the damages to the family and estate of Max Steinberg, an American citizen who was serving as a lone soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. Max was in Gaza City searching for kidnapped victims of terror in the HAMAS terror tunnels when he was ambushed and killed.

As found by the Court, HAMAS, which immediately took credit for the attack, had been receiving and benefiting from funding, weapons and other material support provided by both Iran and Syria. Both countries have long been designated by the US State Department as State Sponsors of Terrorism and, therefore, do not enjoy sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

The compensatory damages awarded by the court included $934,010 of estimated net economic loss to Max’s estate, as well as $5 million to each of his parents and $2.5 million to each of his siblings as compensation for the mental anguish, bereavement and grief which they suffered.

In addition, the Court awarded the family punitive damages in the amount of $150 million, consistent with other DC District Court decisions “to punish and deter foreign states from engaging in or materially supporting terrorism.”

The Plaintiffs are represented by the law firm of Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, PC. “We are most pleased by this decision of the Court,” said senior counsel Richard D. Heideman, “as it has provided a measure of justice for the Steinberg family and other American victims of terror and their families.” He continued, “As long as the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic and other state sponsors of terror continue to sponsor acts of international terror committed against Americans, we will fight to hold them legally accountable.”

• View: Order and Judgement
• View: Memorandum Opinion

Legal Memorandum/Brief submitted to Israeli Attorney General

Legal Memorandum/Brief submitted to
Israeli Attorney General

Legal Memorandum/Brief and Comparative Legal Analysis drafted by Nathan Lewin, Esq. with Alan Dershowitz, Esq., Richard D. Heideman, Esq., Professor Avi Bell and Joseph Tipograph, Esq. and submitted to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, State of Israel with regard to issues relating to the claims of bribery and the media.

Associate Counsel Team

Relevant Articles

Attorney for Netanyahu: What if the prime minister never received a bribe?

(October 29, 2019 / Alex Traiman, JNS) Law professor Avi Bell, a member of the legal team that submitted a brief in defense of the Israeli premier during pre-indictment hearings, talks with JNS about the potential danger the cases against Benjamin Netanyahu pose to Israel’s democracy.

Netanyahu Won’t Be The Only Victim

(October 27, 2019 / Caroline B. Glick, The Jewish Press) The two presented points they made in a brief co-authored with Alan Dershowitz, Richard Heideman, and Joseph Tipograph. The brief focuses on the question at the heart of the two main investigations: Is it permissible to define a news organization’s offer to cover a politician favorably a form of bribery?

Netanyahu, the Media and the Fate of Israeli Democracy

(October 23, 2019 / Caroline B. Glick, The Jewish Press) During the final half hour of Netanyahu’s hearing, Mandelblit approved his attorneys’ request to permit two senior American jurists – legendary litigator Nathan Lewin and Professor Avi Bell from University of San Diego and Bar Ilan University law schools address him. The two presented the main points raised in a brief they authored with their colleagues Prof. Alan Dershowitz and attorneys Richard Heideman and Joseph Tipograph. Netanyahu’s lawyers submitted their brief to Mandelblit the previous week.

Federal Court Holds Syria Accountable, Delivers Justice to the American Victims of the August 9, 2001 Sbarro Restaurant Suicide Bombing

FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE

Federal Court Holds Syria Accountable, Delivers Justice to the American Victims of the August 9, 2001 Sbarro Restaurant Suicide Bombing

Seventeen years ago, a HAMAS suicide bomber concealing explosives in a guitar case, entered the Sbarro Restaurant in Jerusalem, Israel just before 2:00pm and detonated his bomb. The 5-kg-10kg bomb, which was packed with nails, screws and bolts to ensure maximum damage, completely gutted the restaurant, which was full of lunch time diners, including school children.

The terrorist killed 15 people and injured 130 in the Sbarro attack. Among the victims killed was 15 year old Malka Roth, an American citizen.

In 2014, acting on behalf of the family of Malka Roth, attorneys Richard D. Heideman, Noel J. Nudelman and Tracy Reichman Kalik of Heideman Nudelman & Kalik PC, sued the Syrian Arab Republic and Syrian Air Force Intelligence for their state sponsorship of HAMAS and involvement in the Sbarro attack.

Judge Royce C. Lamberth presiding over the case in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, styled Roth et, al, v. Syrian Arab Republic, et al., Civil Action No. 14-cv-01946, recently rendered his verdict. He awarded judgment against the Syrian defendants, holding them accountable for the Sbarro attack and awarding approximately $75 million in damages to the Roth family. Efforts to collect upon the Judgment from the Syrian defendants are expected to be initiated shortly.

“Today, lacking all legitimacy and in a desperate fight for its own survival, the Assad regime in Syria continues its sponsorship of terrorism and has turned on its own people. Human rights investigators report that Syria has murdered hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians since the Assad regime began to implode years ago,” said Richard D. Heideman.

Arnold Roth, Malki’s father, said “We are grateful that the law gives us a way to publicly and meaningfully express outrage at those who give the terrorists the means to do their evil. The sponsors of terror can and must be held legally accountable. “

Heideman further added “Syria has used chemical weapons on their own people and their neighbors in the region. As a state sponsor of terror subject to the jurisdiction of the US courts, Syria deserves to be singled out for their sponsorship of heinous acts of murder. They must be punished. The victims of their terrorist acts deserve justice. This judgment is an important statement of the US District Court intended to punish Syria for its past acts and serve as a deterrent against future Syrian terrorism. We trust that the Court’s decision will provide some measure of justice for the victims of terrorism who lost life, limbs and loved ones.”

Press contacts:

Richard D. Heideman, Esq., Noel J. Nudelman, Esq. and Tracy R. Kalik, Esq. Heideman Nudelman Kalik, PC, 202.463-1818; Email: rdheideman@hnklaw.com or attorneys@hnklaw.com

American Jewish Groups Criticize Interpol for Admission of PA, Israeli PM Netanyahu Vows Response to ‘Palestinian Diplomatic Warfare’

Algemeiner – A number of US Jewish organizations expressed criticism on Wednesday of Interpol’s granting of full membership to the Palestinian Authority.

“We are disappointed by the Interpol vote to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a full member state,” Anti-Defamation League Senior Vice President for International Affairs Sharon Nazarian said in a statement. “We believe this admission is premature.”

“Today’s vote must be seen as the latest step in the ongoing Palestinian campaign to seek international recognition as a state outside the context of bilateral negotiations with Israel,” she continued. “Issues such as statehood, borders, security and related mechanisms can only be resolved through direct negotiations, and the international community should refrain from rewarding Palestinian efforts to circumvent this process.”

“There is also legitimate concern expressed by Israel that the Palestinians could use their membership in Interpol to mount unwarranted legal challenges, including travel bans and extradition requests, against Israeli military and security officials,” Nazarian concluded.

Attorney Richard D. Heideman — the president of the American Zionist Movement — stated, “The Palestinians have clearly not met the standards set by Interpol in contributing to make the world a safer place, in fact the opposite remains true. The murderous terrorist attack in Har Adar yesterday, which has yet to be properly condemned by the Palestinian leadership, is just another example of the unconscionable conduct of the PA/PLO’s use of sanctioned violence through an ongoing campaign of hatred, incitement and the providing of financial incentivization and rewards by the Palestinian Authority.”

“Accepting the Palestinians as the newest member of Interpol under such circumstances is a travesty for justice,” he went on to say. “Interpol now has an absurd situation where member states will share sensitive information with Palestinian police, whose members have been accused of involvement in countless murders and heinous attacks throughout the years. This is a dark day in the fight against global terrorism.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought up the Interpol issue during a meeting in Jerusalem on Wednesday with US President Donald Trump’s visiting international negotiations representative, Jason Greenblatt.

According to Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister told Greenblatt that “the actions of the Palestinian leadership in recent days severely impair the chances of achieving peace,” and vowed that “Palestinian diplomatic warfare would not go unanswered.”

Also on Wednesday, international law expert and former Israeli diplomat Alan Baker wrote that Interpol’s action was “indicative of the total insensitivity of the international community, which out of political correctness and an incomprehensible eagerness to coddle the Palestinian leadership, fails to realize that in so doing they are giving the Palestinians a green light and license to incite and to reward terror.”

Originally published HERE

Heideman calls Palestinian acceptance into Interpol a travesty of justice

(Wednesday, 27th September 2017) – Richard D. Heideman, Senior Counsel of Washington based law firm Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, which represents American victims of terrorism in cases filed in US Federal Courts against Libya, Syria, Iran, the PLO and banks accused of providing material support for terror, has slammed the decision by the International Police Organization (Interpol) to accept the Palestinians as a member. “The Palestinians have clearly not met the standards set by Interpol in contributing to make the world a safer place, in fact the opposite remains true,” Heideman said. “The murderous terrorist attack in Har Adar yesterday, which has yet to be properly condemned by the Palestinian leadership, is just another example of the unconscionable conduct of the PA/PLO’s use of sanctioned violence through an ongoing campaign of hatred, incitement and the providing of financial incentivization and rewards by the Palestinian Authority.”

“Accepting the Palestinians as the newest member of Interpol under such circumstances is a travesty for justice.”

Interpol members passed the Palestinian membership application by 75 to 24 votes, with 34 abstentions. The Palestinians needed more than two-thirds of the yes-or-no votes counted, and on the one-country one-vote basis passed that threshold easily.

“Interpol now has an absurd situation where member states will share sensitive information with Palestinian police, whose members have been accused of involvement in countless murders and heinous attacks throughout the years,” Heideman continued. “This is a dark day in the fight against global terrorism.”

The Virginia Tech Professor and Holocaust Survivor Who Saved His Students’ Lives

Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, P.C. is proud to have served as counsel to the Estate of Liviu Librescu and his family in seeking justice arising from the tragic murder of Professor Librescu in the Virginia Tech massacre.

(Armin Rosen / Tablet) According to Iswhar Puri, the first thing you’d notice about Liviu Librescu was his posture. “He was ramrod straight” and had “a spine of steel,” said Puri, who is now the dean of the engineering faculty at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. At the time of his death, which occurred 10 years ago this Sunday, Librescu was a slight 76-year-old in declining physical health—but he never slouched, carrying himself with an assuredness that reflected deeper aspects of his character. Said Puri, “If you wanted an honest answer to something, if you wanted someone to say to you that you must be crazy…or if you wanted somebody to tell you in a straightforward way that you should do something or not do something, he was the man.”

On the morning of April 16, 2007, Puri was the head of the engineering science and mechanics department at Virginia Tech University, and Librescu, who had taught in Blacksburg since 1985, was one of his professors. Librescu was teaching a solid mechanics class in room 204 of the university’s Norris Hall when Sueng-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old Virginia Tech senior, began a rampage that claimed the lives of 32 people. The professor’s actions are familiar by now, but no easier to comprehend even a full decade later. According to eyewitnesses, at the sound of gunshots Librescu blocked the door of his classroom, which could not be locked from the inside. Cho eventually forced his way in and shot Librescu with a semi-automatic pistol—but by that point, 22 of his students had already climbed out a window and jumped to safety.

Liviu Librescu, date unknown. (Librescu family via Getty Images)

In a public Facebook post written last week, one of Librescu’s students recalls looking down from a second-story window ledge, and then stealing a final glimpse of Librescu standing alone, trying to secure the lecture hall door. As the post explains, that student’s future would include a master’s degree, a risky but inevitably satisfying career change, and a family of her own. At the time the post’s author last saw him, Librescu would have only a few moments to live.

Liviu Librescu was born in Ploisti, an industrial city in eastern Romania, in 1930. Like millions of other Jews across Europe, fascism and communism would shape the course of Librescu’s life, as it would for millions of other Jews across Europe. Romania’s newly formed right-wing government officially allied with the Nazis in 1940, and ordered the deportation of much the country’s Jewish population to the country’s eastern fringes the following year. The Nazis and their Romanian allies murdered an estimated 270,000 Romanian Jews during the Holocaust, out of a pre-war population of 728,000.

During the Holocaust, Librescu’s family was deported to the far eastern region of Transdniestria, then sent to the ghetto in the city of Foscani. Zvi Yaakov Zwiebel, the rabbi at Virginia Tech’s Chabad student center, which is now named in Librescu’s honor, says that the future professor’s experience in Foscani helped inspire him to become an aeronautical engineer. “He was always fascinated about how the birds flew in and out of the ghetto, and that’s what motivated him to get in the aerospace field,” said Zwiebel. “He loved this idea of freedom, whether it’s freedom of religion or freedom of intellect.”

Librescu earned an engineering Ph.D. in Romania after the war. As Puri explains, his research work delved into how the material composition of an aircraft affects its operational limits. Librescu studied how materials performed under flight stresses like heat and air friction, and his work was aimed at “making sure [those materials] don’t fail under very critical operating conditions,” Puri explained. Since Librescu was one of his country’s leading aerospace engineers, Romania’s communist regime conscripted him into several high-end military projects, including an effort to produce an indigenous fighter aircraft. Librescu warned that the plane was unflyable as designed, a fact proven during an early flight test. The program was scrapped soon after that.

The fighter plane episode, Librescu’s refusal to pledge fealty to the regime of Romanian communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, and his open desire to emigrate to Israel, all cost him dearly. He was fired from his position at Romania’s Academy of Sciences some time in the early 70s. Although he was banned from publishing in Romania, he succeeded in secretly trafficking an influential academic paper to a research journal in the Netherlands at immense personal risk, and would entrust visiting western European scientists with his latest research, which was unpublishable in his own country. In the late ’70s, the Israeli government interceded on Librescu’s behalf, and prime minister Menachem Begin, who also had painful first-hand experience of both fascism and communism, personally advocated for the scientist’s right to emigrate. He arrived in Israel, the country where he is now buried, in 1978, and taught at Tel Aviv University and the Technion in Haifa before moving on to Virginia Tech in 1985. He arrived for what was supposed to be a single sabbatical year, but ended up staying for much longer. (He’s now buried in Ra’anana.)

Simply existing as a Jew in 20th-century Eastern Europe had denied Librescu the freedom he’d sought for nearly his entire life. Of all places, he found what he was looking for in Blacksburg, a somewhat isolated university town four hours southwest of Washington, D.C. As Puri describes him, Librescu was a committed Jew, and also something of a luddite. His wife, Marlena, who died four years ago, handled nearly everything email or computer-related, and gradually became a working partner, an academic collaborator of sorts. “When you talked to them you lost sense of where one identity ended and one began,” Puri recalled.

Marlena Librescu is comforted by her son Joe during the funeral of Liviu Librescu in Ra’anana, Israel, April 20, 2007. (David Silverman/Getty Images)

Librescu developed a reputation as an almost obsessively prolific participant in academic conferences, perhaps a result of being cut off from the scientific community for so much of his career (at the time of his death, Librescu was preparing papers for three conferences he planned on attending over the summer of 2007). He had close friendships in Blacksburg. Pier Marzocca, a former Virginia Tech professor who is now associate dean of the school of engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, described Librescu as “a father figure” in an email. Marzocca wrote that he ate with Librescu nearly every Sunday night for four years. Librescu frequently shared anecdotes of his time back in Europe, something his colleagues seemed to welcome: After all, the Romanian had seen more of the world and its possibilities than any of them had seen, or probably wanted to. “Although now 10 years later those memories are somewhat blending in, some of these conversations are very vivid and his way of living is very much inspirational to me,” Marzocca said.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Librescu’s actions—for which he was posthumously awarded Romania’s highest civilian honor—were a much needed source of hope and resilience for a shattered Virginia Tech community. Rabbi Zwiebel arrived in Blacksburg two years after the shooting, a time when memories of the April 16th massacre were still raw. Zwiebel has drawn on Librescu’s example in his own work on campus over the years. “We try to teach this selfless legacy to the students, and that’s what Torah’s about,” Zwiebel said. “Sometimes things are bigger than us.”

Part of Zwiebel’s responsibilities include helping to commemorate the massacre and Librescu’s heroism. On April 24, the 28th of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar—which is both Yom HaShoah and the 10th Hebrew anniversary of Librescu’s death—the Virginia Tech Chabad house is organizing a memorial event in which a Holocaust survivor and one of Librescu’s two sons will speak. “You try to take a Jewish perspective of what we can learn out of it, and how we can grow out of it,” Zwiebel said of the 2007 shooting.

Ten years later, perhaps Librescu’s greatest legacy is that he gave nearly two-dozen people a chance to continue their lives. Even after a decade of thinking over his friend and colleague’s decision to barricade his classroom door, Puri is still in awe of Librescu’s contribution to the world—something which, as Puri notes, is almost impossible to really measure. “I don’t think that you’re saving the person momentarily. You’re saving a life. You’re saving 22 lives. Those 22 lives then go on to contribute to society. They multiply. Those 22 lives go on into other generations. I mean that’s what’s mind-blowing about what Liviu did. It’s quite possible that some of the students who were students 10 years ago have kids today. It’s because of one man, right?”

Originally published HERE

Heideman gives Keynote Address at Louis D. Brandeis Center National Law Student Leadership Conference

In March 2017, Richard D. Heideman gave the keynote address at the fourth annual Louis D. Brandeis Center National Law Student Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. The conference brought together law student leaders from 13 of LDB’s law student chapters across the country, and educated these students on topics including civil rights law; international law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict; legal responses to terror and how to pursue them; religious liberty; and how to use legal tools to combat anti-Semitism and the Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Additionally, the students were presented with networking opportunities amongst their peers, attorneys, and legal scholars.

Heideman’s address entitled “Holding Sponsors of Terrorism Legally Accountable” was a powerful declaration of the power of an individual lawyer to change the world. Heideman discussed overcoming insurmountable odds to bring cases against world leaders, foreign powers, and figures considered generally untouchable in the legal community. Heideman represented clients against Muammar Gaddafi, as well as the nations of Libya and Syria. Heideman sought justice for the victims of the Abu Nidal terrorist organization attacks on the Vienna and Rome airports, along with the American victims of the EgyptAir flight 648 hijacking. Heideman chronicled the difficult road his law firm faced in obtaining justice and compensation for victims of crimes that were perpetrated decades earlier, crimes for which no one believed justice could be obtained. Heideman spoke about the importance of anti-terrorism law, of having a White House committed to the fight against terror, and his theory of confluence: when the victims, lawyers, congressmen, hearings, an amenable White House, and the State Department all come together, anything can be accomplished. Richard Heideman ended his discussion with a piece of advice for all of the aspiring lawyers in the room “Stand up, speak out, and seek justice.

Read more about the Conference HERE.

LAW360: Judge OKs Garmin Faulty Watch Suit, $385K Attys’ Fees

by Emily Field

Law360, New York (November 3, 2016, 10:09 PM EDT) — A Utah federal judge on Thursday gave the final nod to a settlement between Garmin Ltd. and a class of consumers alleging that a model of its sports watches is defective and comes apart during use, including $385,000 in attorneys’ fees.

Under the terms of the deal, class members can who bought a Garmin Forerunner 610 between April 2011 and July 2014 can have the watch or the watchband repaired for free or replaced; those who have already paid to fix their watch can receive $50 to $75 back under the terms of the settlement. U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby said that the settlement provides “significant value, both monetary and non-monetary” to the classes.

“The court hereby grants final approval of the settlement on the basis that the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate to the settlement classes,” the judge said.

In addition to the attorneys’ fees, the judge also approved incentive awards of $1,250 each to class representatives Andrea and Joel Katz.

“We are pleased that the Court has recognized the fairness and value that this settlement has brought to consumers of the Forerunner 610 nationwide,” Noel J. Nudelman of Heideman Nudelman & Kalik PC told Law360 on Thursday. “The settlement not only provides class members with meaningful financial compensation but also provides an additional extended warranty to all class members.”

The Katzes filed suit in March 2014, claiming that that the watches are defective because the wristband separates from the watch while the user is running or participating in other physical activities, according to the complaint.

“The plastic watchband has an unacceptable rate of failure in that it detaches from the Forerunner 610, resulting in the loss or damage of the watch or the need for the consumer to spend his/her time and money to replace or fix the plastic watchband,” the complaint said.

Andrea Katz bought a Forerunner 610 watch for $350 as a gift for her husband because of its ability to track distances, navigate routes and monitor a variety of weather conditions, the complaint said.

Garmin’s marketing materials tout the “suitability of the Forerunner 610 in a variety of intense physical activities, including its ability to conduct ‘interval training,’ analyze bicycling and running routes, and measure aerobic fitness,” the complaint said.

When her husband used the watch while running, however, the plastic wristband detached from the watch as a result of the metal pins falling out or breaking, the complaint said. He brought the watch into the Garmin store to be repaired, but the same thing happened again three months later.

The third time the watch came apart, the Garmin salesperson recommended he buy a more resilient Velcro band at his own expense.

Garmin knew or should have known about the defects in the design and manufacturing of the watch, the complaint said. Despite its knowledge, Garmin refused to recall the Forerunner 610 or replace the plastic wristbands for free.

According to the complaint, there are tens of thousands of potential class members who bought the watches. On Amazon.com, there are more than 300 reviews and nearly 10 percent of those report the same problems, the complaint said.

A representative for Garmin declined comment.

The consumers are represented by Mark F. James of Hatch James & Dodge PC and Richard D. Heideman, Noel J. Nudelman and Tracy Reichman Kalik of Heideman Nudelman & Kalik PC.

Garmin is represented by Peter W. Herzog III of Wheeler Trigg & O’Donnell LLP, Kenneth Mallin and Jena M. Valdetero of Bryan Cave, and Francis M. Wikstrom and Zack L. Winzeler of Parsons Behle & Latimer.

The case is Katz et al v. Garmin Ltd et al., case number 2:14-cv-00165, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.

—Editing by Joe Phalon.

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN LAW360 »

International lawyers call on FIFA to investigate egregious violations by Palestinian Football Association

The Lawfare Project has recruited dozens of international attorneys representing major firms and organizations to sign a letter to Tokyo Sexwale, Chairman of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Monitoring Committee for Israel and Palestine, informing him of flagrant and continuous violations of the FIFA statutes and codes by the Palestinian Football Association (PFA). The letter follows the complaint submitted by the PFA demanding that Israeli football clubs in disputed territories be kicked out of the institution. We are grateful to Jonathan Turner of UKLFI for helping us draft the letter.

The best defense is always a good offense. We therefore strongly urge the Israeli Football Association (IFA) to file claims with FIFA regarding the PFA’s behavior, which is so reprehensible that it warrants a suspension or expulsion of the PFA from the institution. FIFA must protect itself from politicization, and therefore it cannot address claims made against the Israeli team without simultaneously addressing claims against the Palestinians. The PFA, whose behavior is totally antithetical to the spirit and purpose of international sport, must be made aware that their frivolous complaints against the IFA render them equally vulnerable to investigation.

Disgraceful PFA violations of the FIFA statutes and ethical codes include:
The PFA punishing Palestinians who participate in football games with Israelis, in contravention of Article 5(1) of the FIFA Statute, which provides that “FIFA shall promote friendly relations between and among member associations and in society for humanitarian objectives.” This behavior also violates the prohibition of discrimination of any kind in Article 4 of the FIFA Statute and Article 23 of the FIFA Code of Ethics.

Officials of the PFA regularly denigrating Israel and Israelis, in breach of Article 23 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, which prohibits persons bound by the Code (including officials) from offending the dignity of a country or group of people through derogatory words or actions.
The promotion and glorification of terrorism inherent in Palestinian football clubs’ celebrations of terrorists who have killed Israelis; by naming their teams after dead Palestinian terrorists; and by praising acts of terrorism against Israelis. This behavior violates the physical and mental integrity of Palestinians in contravention of Article 24 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, by encouraging impressionable children to end their lives in suicide-homicide attacks and to emulate those terrorists being praised by their heroes, Palestinian athletes and football clubs.
The use of the platform given to the PFA and its leadership to promote a political agenda and politicize FIFA and international sport, generally. This conduct breaches Article 14 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, which requires political neutrality.

Read the full letter here.

If FIFA officials plan to take action against the Israeli clubs in disputed territories, they must also be prepared to acknowledge and punish the Palestinian Football Association for these brazen violations of FIFA codes. FIFA must protect itself and all institutions of international sport from being politicized and dishonored in Palestinian attempts to ostracize the Jewish state.

Lobbyists prepare new terrorism victims push

By ISAAC ARNSDORF

With help from Taylor Gee, Kaitlyn Burton and Mary Lee

THE NEXT JASTA? The recent success of the bill letting 9/11 victims’ families sue Saudi Arabia, passed over President Barack Obama‘s veto, is emboldening other terrorism victims to seek similar openings. Lawyers for Esther Klieman, an American who was killed in a 2002 attack on a public bus in Jerusalem, have fought in court for more than a decade for restitution from the Palestinian Authority. But that case and others like it have lost on jurisdictional grounds. Now the attorneys for Klieman’s estate — Richard Heideman, Noel Nudelman, Tracy Kalik and Keyauna Fogle of Heideman Nudelman & Kalik — are lobbying for new legislation to help the lawsuits proceed.

While the Saudi bill, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, applies to foreign states responsible for attacks within the U.S., this law would address non-governmental entities responsible for deaths of Americans abroad, Heideman told PI. Lawmakers could decide to write it generally or specifically on the Palestinians, he said. The lawyers say they’ll start outreach to every member of Congress in the lame duck or next Congress.

“We believe it’s an issue that ought to be one of the first steps the next Congress takes,” he said.

MEANWHILE, talk of retaliatory laws that anti-JASTA lobbyists warned about are starting to bubble up overseas. A pressure group called the Arab Project in Iraq asked the country’s parliament to prepare a lawsuit against the U.S. over the 2003 invasion. Victims of this summer’s failed Turkish coup are discussing whether a similar bill could let them sue the U.S., which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses of harboring the cleric he deems responsible.

LAME DUCK: Confirming Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, providing relief to Flint, Mich., in the water resources bill, and fixing JASTA have a “strong chance” of getting done in the lame duck, according to the latest slide deck from Bruce Mehlman of Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas. The only must-dos for those 16 legislative days are government funding, the National Defense Authorization Act and leadership elections, he said. Possible, but less likely: the Trans-Pacific Partnership, health research, sentencing reform, orphaned tax extenders.

FIGHT NIGHT IN VEGAS. Chill out with some Debussy at the Bellagio fountain. Send tips to iarnsdorf@politico.com.

STATUS UPDATES:

— Dorothy Savarese, chairman, CEO, and president of Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, is the American Bankers Association‘s next chairman, writes The Hill’s Sylvan Lane.

— Marc Cadin was named as chief operating officer and Chris Morton was named SVP government affairs at the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting.

— The Healthcare Distribution Alliance hired Matthew DiLoreto as vice president of state government affairs from the National Community Pharmacists Association and Leah Lindahl as senior director of Western state government affairs from the Colorado BioScience Association.

— Lucy Gettman was promoted to chief advocacy officer leading the federal advocacy & public policy team at the National School Boards Association.

OBAMACARE’S NEXT CHAPTER: Rick Pollack of the American Hospital Association, Marilyn Tavenner of America’s Health Insurance Plans, and Steve Ubl of Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America agreed that they won’t support a Clinton administration push for a public option without fixes to the Obamacare marketplace, reports The Hill’s Peter Sullivan.

APP WARS: Amid a standoff between Apple and Spotify, Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Dave Trott (R-Mich.) urged FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez to investigate whether tech companies are using their app stores to choke competition, POLITICO’s Tony Romm reports. Spotify has hired Tom Manatos and spent $450,000 lobbying on antitrust issues.

HOUSE IN PLAY: More than a dozen Democratic challengers are benefiting from a legal loophole to get extra dollars from the DCCC, reports POLITICO’s Scott Bland. They’re wording TV spots in such a way so that they can split the cost of their ads with the party. “If you can find a way now that you only have to pay 50 percent of an ad, and link your opponent to Trump, and that makes strategic sense in the district, that’s a no-brainer,” said a Democratic operative.

T&I SHAKEUPS: The House Transportation Committee could see some changes this election season as the future is uncertain for members like Reps. Bill Shuster, John Mica, Jeff Denham and Rick Nolan, writes POLITICO’s Tanya Snyder. Committee members Reps. Richard Hanna, Candice Miller, Janice Hahn and Reid Ribbleare also retiring.

SPECTRUM: POLITICO’s Margaret Harding McGill and Tony Romm report who’s under consideration to lead the FCC if Clinton wins: major fundraiser Susan Ness; Nielsen executive Karen Kornbluh; Phil Verveer, senior counselor to Chairman Tom Wheeler; Alec Ross, former digital adviser to Hillary Clinton at the State Department; Daniel Sepulveda, an ambassador who’s leading efforts at State on internet freedom issues; Blair Levin, a former FCC official and architect of the National Broadband Plan; Catherine Sandoval, commissioner on the California Public Utilities Commission; and Phil Weiser, University of Colorado law professor who advised the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama.

COLONIALS: Former Texas state senator Wendy Davis headlines a stop at George Washington University today on a gun violence prevention bus tour by Americans for Responsible Solutions, the group led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and astronaut Mark Kelly. The Smoot Tewes Group is running media for the tour.

SPOTTED at Third Way reception last night at Baby Wale: Yebbie Watkins, chief of staff to Rep. Jim Clyburn; Jesse Price, Eli Lilly; Ian Rayder, Cisco; Rob Hall, Entergy; Mark Henson, chief of staff to Rep. Jim Himes; Chad Metzler, legislative director to Sen. Angus King; Izzy Klein, Roberti Global; Kathleen Black, Coca-Cola; Jeff Navin, Boundary Stone Partners; Robert Diznoff, legislative director to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

— Last night 50 women in food policy gathered at a happy hour organized by Liz Clark of the National Confectioners Association, including Julia Gustafson, Corn Refiners Association; Chris Heggem, House Agriculture Committee; Eileen Lauzon, Hershey; Lee LeBlond, Sen. Richard Burr’s office; Janae Brady, Senate Agriculture Committee; Jasmine Dickerson, Feeding America; Louise Hilsen, Kelley Drye & Warren; Laura Klick and Beth Goldstein of Squire Patton Boggs; Liz Hermsen, Sen. Bob Casey’s office; Shannon Campagna, Kelly Horton and Melissa Weber of Mars, Inc.; Susan Whiteside and Elise Fennig of NCA; Lee Sanders, American Bakers Association; and Maureen Enright of the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative.

— Last night the Business Roundtable and RATE Coalition hosted a happy hour for the 30th anniversary of the 1986 tax overhaul at Irish Times,where members like Bill Bradley, Tip O’Neill, and Dan Rostenkowski used to negotiate. Dave Camp spoke. Also spotted: Matt Miller, BRT; Cristina Crooks, Carolyn Lee and Laura Siegrist with NAM; Ashley Wilson, U.S. Chamber; Andrew Mills, Niskanen Center; Scott Salmon, Shell; James Gould, who worked on the ’86 bill, now with Ogilvy; Tucker Shumack; Brian Johnson, tax lobbyist for API; Annie Policastro, UPS; Michelle Dimarob, Altria; Kathleen Black, Coca Cola; and Brad Bailey, formerly with Speaker John Boehner.

— Last night over 200 people attended the Advocacy Leaders Network fall happy hour, which featured beer and bourbon tastings at the offices of Beekeeper Group. The event was co-sponsored by Veritone, VoterVoice and RAP Index. Spotted: Brad Fitch, CEO Congressional Management Foundation; Cheryl Miller, Verizon; Matt Fitting, American Heart Association; Gadi Ben-Yehuda, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Randy Dwyer, American Farm Bureau Federation; Kristen Prather, Credit Union National Association; Michael Lewan, National Marine Manufacturers Association; and David Lusk, Key Advocacy.

NEW JOINT FUNDRAISERS:
Nevada North Carolina Victory Fund: Non-Qualified Non-Party, Joint Fundraiser

NEW PACs:
American Greatness: Independent Expenditure-Only Committee, Unauthorized
Mountaineer Justice PAC: Non-Qualified Non-Party, Unauthorized
Ohio Association of Realtors Political Advocacy Fund (OAR-PAF): Independent Expenditure-Only Committee, Unauthorized

NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS:
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Infosys Limited
American Defense International, Inc.:TSG Therapeutics Pte Ltd.
Best Best & Krieger LLP: Las Virgenes-Triunfo Joint Powers Authority
Capitol Hill Consulting Group: Offshore Marine Service Association
Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered: Efficiency Energy, LLC
Capstone National Partners: CUNA Mutual Group
Capstone National Partners: International Association of Medical Equipment Remarketers and Servicers
Capstone National Partners: Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation
Capstone National Partners: National Cooperative Bank, N.A.
Capstone National Partners: Visual Arts Rights Coalition
Crowell & Moring LLP: The Academy Advisors
DQB International: Texas Biomedical Research Institute
Dutko Worldwide, LLC d/b/a Grayling: Card and Associates (for Alliance Health Networks)
FTI Government Affairs: Colonial Pipeline Company
George J. Hochbrueckner & Associates, Inc.: STS Global, Inc.
Harbinger Strategies, LLC: Iron Mountain
HillStaffer, LLC: Alternative & Direct Investment Securities Association/ADISA
JMH Group, formerly Jamian Mcelroy & Hamlin, LLC: ATC Materials
JMH Group, formerly Jamian Mcelroy & Hamlin, LLC: Cambium Networks
Lugar Hellmann Group: PepsiCo, INC
NVG, LLC: American Psychiatric Association
NVG, LLC: Forscey, PLLC (on behalf of Adventist Health System)
RNL Consulting LLC: Genworth Financial
Strategic Federal Affairs: St. Clair County Community College
Todd Strategy, LLC: CareDx, Inc.
Whitmer & Worrall, LLC: Utilities Technology Council
Winning Strategies Washington: Zoll

NEW LOBBYING TERMINATIONS:
Artemis Strategies: Genworth Financial
Manatt, Phelps, And Phillips: Town Of Stratford
Alpine Group, Inc.: Ascensia Diabetes Care Us Inc.
Alpine Group, Inc.: Crispr Therapeutics
American Defense International, Inc.: Tcom
Ariale Strategies, L.L.C.: Becker & Poliakoff On Behalf Of Shotspotter
Ariale Strategies, L.L.C.: Becker & Poliakoff On Behalf Of Streetcred
Ariale Strategies, L.L.C.: Project C.U.R.E.
Capitol Strategies Partners LLC: American Airlines
Cavarocchi Ruscio Dennis Associates, L.L.C.: Society For Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Cloakroom Advisors LLC: Linden Care LLC
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Crosby & Higgins Llp On Behalf Of Melrose Credit Union
Hanka Advisor LLC: Madison County, Indiana
Holland & Knight LLP: City Of Austin TX
Manatt, Phelps, And Phillips: Norwalk Redevelopment Agency
Manatt, Phelps, And Phillips: Parent-Child Home Program
Manatt, Phelps, And Phillips: The Horace Bushnell Memorial Hall Corporation
Mcgregor Group, LLC: Solomon P. Ortiz Holdings, Llc (On Behalf Of Waste Control Specialist)
Mwr Strategies, Inc.: Suez
Podesta Group, Inc.: Monster Energy Company
Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications: Maguire Group
Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications: National Flea Market Association
Sbl Strategies, LLC: J.B. Hunt
The Ferguson Group, LLC: Glendale-Ca City Of
Thorn Run Partners: Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.
Van Scoyoc Associates: Montana State University-Bozeman
Van Scoyoc Associates: University Of Montana
Alpine Group, Inc.: Health Net, Inc.
Arent Fox LLP: Transit Labs, Inc.
Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP: Comptia (Formerly Technology Association Of America)
Ass’N Of Private Sector Colleges And Universities (Fka Career College Ass’N): Ass’N Of Private Sector Colleges And Universities (Fka Career College Ass’N)
Capitol Decisions, Inc.: Intellidyne, LLC
Cornerstone Government Affairs, LLC: Metabiota
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Radiation Therapy Alliance
George J. Hochbrueckner & Associates, Inc.: Globecomm (Globecomm Systems, Inc.)
K&L Gates LLP: Solvay America, Inc.
Kadesh & Associates, LLC: Sempra Energy
Kadesh & Associates, LLC: Syngenta Corporation (Through Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP)
Kadesh & Associates, LLC: The National Parks Conservation Association
King & Spalding LLP: Bacardi U S A Inc
Mcdermott+Consulting LLC: Sensus Healthcare
Morgan Meguire, LLC: Transmission Agency Of Northern California
Morris J. Amitay, PC: Victims Of Terrorism – East Africa
O’Hara Federal Strategies, LLC: Oxfam America
Sidley Austin LLP: Western United Life Assurance Company
State University Of New York Maritime College: State University Of New York Maritime College
Strategic Health Care: Advantage Health Solutions Inc
Strategic Health Care: Medavail Technologies, Inc.
Strategic Health Care: Section 508 Coalition
The Walter Group: Renenco Group
Thompson Advisory Group: NL Systems, LLC
Winston & Strawn LLP: American Bureau Of Shipping (ABS)
Winston & Strawn LLP: DHL Holdings (USA) Inc

*We are correcting an error that appeared in the Politico article. Keyauna Fogle is a non-attorney employee at Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, PC

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