Am I the only progressive who considers the “hate crime” designation ambiguous & deeply problematic? Surely I’m not the only one who thinks that before the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) starts raising money around Charleston it has some questions to answer about its association with Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, a Zionist zealot & the Israeli who founded Shurat HaDin law center which recently won a case against the Palestinian Authority in a NYC court.
Shurat HaDin has connections to the Israeli government & engages in what they call “lawfare,” bringing suits on behalf of ‘terror victims’ against “Islamic & Arab groups engaged in terror attacks”–that is, Palestinian groups, their political leaders, & who they consider the financial patrons. There are reports they are preparing legal actions against BDS groups.
One disturbing fact is Darshan-Leitner’s admission in an interview that she was schooled personally by the SPLC. This is not the first time the SPLC has been accused of facilitating Zionist projects. They have been criticized publicly for identifying antisemitism with anti-Zionism & have not refuted that criticism.
Shurat HaDin models its strategy on the SPLC strategy of bankrupting who they define as hate groups, like the KKK. But the question is, what gives SPLC the authority to define who is a hate group if they cannot distinguish between antisemitism & anti-Zionism? If their commitment is to Israel, will they eventually place BDS groups on their hate list? And if Shurat HaDin can file suit in US courts against Palestinian groups, will SPLC file suit in Israel against systemic racism & violence against Ethiopian Israelis & the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians?