hold on elaborate on this some more
because okay jails for bad people these
people are in jail they must be bad what
are you doing I mean representing uh is
their label on them if they're - I don't
know really much of anything about it
except but you you actually brought it
to my attention fill us in because
someone says what do you represent
terrorists for what what's going on with
this
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and his daughter needed surgery just to
live and she agree was able to find a
charity who funded his daughter's
surgery but shukri said that changed his
life he said I am a Muslim and I love to
give so he left his job he quit he
founded a charity he put his heart and
soul into a charity that grew to be the
largest Muslim charity in the United
States they were mainly giving
humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza as well as the
refugee populations in Lebanon and
Jordan and then they also gave to other
needy populations across the world what
was going on in this country was a
charitable activity one that is
protected by our Constitution
one that I believe the five people that
have been subject to this trial are not
guilty of committing any crime but had
been persecuted because of where they
are in history it's a political
situation this was a political trial as
far as I'm concerned as far as a lot of
other civil liberties organizations are
concerned my name is Edward Abington I'm
a former American diplomat I third spent
thirty years dealing mainly with the
Middle East specifically arab-israeli
issues my last overseas assignment was
as the American Consul General in
Jerusalem from 1993 to 1997
we never received any warnings or
caution about dealing with the Holy Land
Foundation they were considered to be a
legitimate American charity and I was
familiar with the work with their work
they had a good reputation for honesty
and providing assistance to the people
who really needed it but it's a law
certainly in the last year since 9/11
has been aimed particularly at Muslims
and not just charities about Muslims who
have any relationship at all with groups
that the u.s. designates as terrorist
now what's interesting is there's a cop
groups we talk talked about in the Holy
Land five case those were not designated
as terrorists you would think that if
there were really front groups for Hamas
that the US would have designated but
they didn't it just shows what a really
made-up clinical persecution this was
the United States has never labeled
zakat committees as controlled by Hamas
or as being a terrorist organizations
and in fact up until
2007-2008 a I D was channeling
assistance
through American NGOs working with zakat
committees so the allegation that the
Israelis made that these organizations
were basically controlled with Hamas was
certainly not the view of the United
States government at the time I was
serving in Jerusalem or for that matter
afterwards and that was very
contradictory I mean it was like the
left hand doesn't know what the right
hand was doing as far as I'm concerned
they're just like many other people that
had been unjustly jailed for their
political activities defense was trying
to say look the Justice Department is
alleging that
the Holy Land Foundation is supporting
terrorism because they're working with
zakat committees but we have a long list
of projects funded by the US government
working with American NGOs who worked
with zakat committees and we have the
documentation to show this
the the court kept a lot of that
documentation out of the try these
defendants particularly fitness or
giving money to the zakat committees
knowing that was going to Hamas whether
it's legitimate or not really isn't at
issue it's whether they knew that the
money that was being funneled to the
committee's were actually going to Hamas
and I think we established that at trial
but the United States government was
also giving money to a zakat committee
yeah you know I don't remember that it's
being that
you know it's been a long time at a
minimum you shouldn't be prosecuted for
providing Geritol activity to a group
that has not even been put on a list so
that you have noticed that you're not
supposed to be aiding it I mean they
checked the list they they the the board
of HLF could check the list and they
would say okay here's the groups that
are on the list we're not going to
support any of those here's groups that
are not on the list we can support those
there's a case that I'm writing about
right now in the United States which is
called the case of the Holy Land
Foundation there's been
persecution and prosecutions of
Palestinians Arabs and Muslims in
America and all over the West actually
for a very long time now I'm sure you've
all heard the term Islamophobia
now we're not again talking to some
laymen this is my friend my co-pilot the
general son father was a general in the
Israeli army
great-great-great grandfather
grandfather one of the original signers
of the Declaration of Independence we
got an expert in this area the case of
the Holy Land Foundation is a fund is a
foundational case the Holy Land
Foundation in United States was the
largest Muslim charity in America and it
was run by Palestinians their focus was
Palestine but they gave her Libre they
offered relief after 9/11 after the
Oklahoma City bombings in floods and
earthquakes not only in the US but all
around the world in Turkey and other
places and of course tremendous relief
they were able to offer in Palestine
helping the poorest of the poor and
wonderful people and great friends like
you and I have been speaking to their
lawyers and I've never seen lawyers cry
as much as the lawyers who represent
these these men the frustration
where the defense case is so strong the
prosecution's case is so weak yet the
prosecution wins time and time appeal
after appeal after appeal you know about
the case of the whole Latin foundation
that I've been but I'm writing about
right now
the books had come out next year and I
visited Supriya but care and we filled
up the car there and have a Brahim
amazeen
and I've got about all day I'm visited
all of them in prison federal prison
here in the United States
none of them are oppressed none of them
are prisoners I mean even though there's
they're in federal prison for very very
long
sentences they're all free men and they
speak like free men and their spirit is
strong and and so I don't feel like I
speak for the oppressed I feel like I'm
speaking for friends of mine who are
living in very harsh conditions that
have been imposed on them and that's
terrible injustice so I'm speaking for
that remedy dad to correct the injustice
and it's a very rewarding experience
hold on elaborate on this some more
because okay jails for bad people these
people are in jail they must be bad what
are you doing I mean representing is
their label on them if they're I don't
know really much of anything about it
except but you you actually brought it
to my attention fill us in because
someone says what do you represent
terrorists for what what's going on with
this well the case of the hardline
foundation Berlin Foundation was the
largest Muslim charity in America at one
time and then in December of 2001 after
9/11 President George Bush closed them
down with an executive order claiming
that they were
financed Network for Hamas for terrorism
so this raises several issues number one
how does that happen how did how do you
take a charity organization and suddenly
conflated with it with with supporting
terrorism
how do you criminalize charity you know
it takes some ingenuity some creativity
and how do you label five men good men
who did nothing wrong in fact did
everything right and everything good and
suddenly label them terrorists to throw
them in federal prison for very very
long for many many years
and this has to do with with the
narrative that Australians are
terrorists the charity the Palestinian
me Palestinians means you're encouraging
terrorism the claim was that they
gave what is called material support to
a terrorist organization by working with
zakat committees in Palestine and since
the prosecution could never prove that a
single penny from homeland foundation
actually went to any terrorist
organization or any organization that is
what is called recognized or as or
designated as a terrorist organization
they claimed that the organized the CAD
committees in Palestine are part of
Hamas which is not true now every other
organization around the world that
provides relief for Palestine works with
the cot committees the only place the
only organization that was that was
actually accused of supporting terrorism
by working with these committees is the
whole land foundation case in the trial
took place in the Northern District of
Texas everywhere else in the world and
everywhere else here in the United
States US aid and the State Department
and so on still work with the
committee's and of course none of those
academies were ever designated as
terrorist organizations quite the
opposite
so hold on foundation five did nothing
wrong
they wouldn't support they wouldn't
support terrorism anyway because these
are good people they wouldn't support
violence anyway they are Palestinian
Patriots they did what they believed was
the right thing to do and I believe was
the right thing to do which is support
they're there they're there their
brothers and sisters in their homeland
in Palestine
but they had to be brought down because
the narrative is that Palestinians are
terrorists the narrative is that these
realities are victims and the
Palestinians are the perpetrators of
violence and so having a good kind face
to Palestinian charity doesn't work and
so they had to be taken down and I
believe it's a completely political case
it was a terrible injustice they did
nothing wrong they are not terrorists I
think they're probably more people in
prison that don't deserve to be in
prison than most people know but in the
case of these five people there's
actually no doubt I think in anybody's
mind that they are completely innocent
and they were put in this position only
because this is a political trial so
I've been visiting them and meeting with
them and meeting with the families and I
met people who worked with them in
Palestine and I met and I went to visit
their homes in Palestine
and like I said the book is coming out
all being well next year they will tell
this terrible story of this injustice
before I go into another question you
must have obviously I mean you wouldn't
end up putting your name on something if
you didn't really believe in the product
for example in this case you wouldn't
stand behind certain individuals if they
were terrorists I don't know I mean
unless somebody's crazy deranged you
know other mind but you obviously must
have done your homework you must have
really I mean
looked into this before you started
visiting someone in jail and then
writing a book and so you're obviously
well I mean very well informed in this
era and how much does a person have to
dig in this area to see that you know
there's some injustice going on or a lot
of injustice well actually you don't
have to dig very far it's it's it's it's
crystal clear it doesn't take it doesn't
take a lot to realize that to see that
this was an injustice it doesn't take a
lot actually to see that there was that
these people were
that this whole trial was politically
motivated that this whole trial was put
together this whole accusation and
closing over the whole that foundation
and the prosecution of these five men
was politically motivated it doesn't
really take much
the way the trial was conducted
the kind of evidence that was allowed to
be brought in which was completely
unacceptable and irrelevant
and
so it actually doesn't take much I did
do my homework I have been researching
this for almost four years now I've read
thousands and thousands and thousands of
pages of court documents and spoke to
lawyers and then read the appeals and
read the opinions of both you know both
sides
and like I said I visited the people in
prison I visited their families I
visited people in Palestine who worked
with them I know the things that they
did I've seen the projects and there's
no question in my mind that these men
are innocent men
and that their sentence should be at
least commuted if not if not completely
exonerated dear mr. president I have
been writing the letter to year after
year I'm 11 years old now I am one of
the proud daughters of the Holy Land
five my father and four other great men
were put into jail for nothing my father
got 65 years he did not hurt anyone or
anything if anything he helped people
now the favor I really want from you is
to feed the hl5 you are the only one who
can do this and I hope you will did you
know I have the same birthday as dr.
Martin Luther King jr. maybe that's how
he seems the same come on mr. president
we need you can you solve this case I
hope you think about this and please as
soon as you can thank you sincerely an
American girl who wants her dad back
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