Pro-Palestinian Group Lectured On Skirting Terror Laws

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The conference was attended by a number of prominent activists, academics, and others who represent the mainstream of the pro-Palestinian movement in the United States. Ahmad encouraged attendees to “continue to assist and advocate for Palestinians morally and even financially,” while being careful to steer clear of terrorism financing laws.

On the one hand, that sounds like good legal advice. But it was unclear why the conference sponsor—which is outwardly committed to legal forms of protest, including boycotts, and sanctions, and rallies on college campuses—felt the need to provide advice on how to provide financial assistance without running afoul of well-established anti-terrorism laws.

“I think this speaks to the fact that you have a new generation of charities and activist groups that now understand, very clearly, where that line is, and they’re very careful not to cross it,” said Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the Treasury Department who helped designate terrorist financiers, and who’s now the vice president of research for the hawkish Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
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Terrorist organizations are publicly designated by the government, and in recent years the Treasury Department has not sought to add many new organizations to the list, Schanzer said.
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