A lawsuit by over 140 family members and victims of the October 7 massacre against the terrorist organization perpetrators and their state sponsors was filed by the Anti-Defamation League and Crowell & Moring with the Columbia District Court on Thursday, in their second legal action on behalf of US citizens impacted by the 2023 Hamas-led pogrom.
The filing sought judgment against eight terrorist organizations for homicide, material support for terrorism, aiding and abetting terrorism, and conspiracy under the Anti-Terrorism Act, which allows US nationals to seek civil action in the US for terrorism conducted by Foreign Terrorist Organizations abroad.
The ADL and Crowell & Moring named Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Popular Resistance Committees, the Palestinian Resistance Committees, the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, and Hezbollah as responsible for varying crimes against US citizens and their families.
The suit also targeted four state actors under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which allows victims to sue countries that are US-designated state sponsors of terrorism.
The ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement that the lawsuit would hold states responsible for providing funding, weapons, and training to the relevant terrorist organizations.
“The victims of the October 7 massacre deserve justice, accountability and redress,” said Greenblatt.
Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Syria, and North Korea were accused of facilitating, supporting, or funding the activity of the terrorist organizations involved in the October 7 massacre. The suit brought claims of punitive damages, direct liability, assault, civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, emotional suffering, and wrongful death.
Crowell & Moring partner and case lead counsel Aryeh Portnoy said in a statement that the team was determined to hold all those responsible for the mass terrorist attack before a court of law, including state actors.
“State sponsors of terrorism should not be able to avoid the consequences of their heinous acts by hiding behind the proxies they materially support,” said Portnoy.
While Syria had undergone a regime change since the October 7 massacre, the ADL told The Jerusalem Post that different political entities did not absolve past actions and legal liabilities for those actions.
'Victims of the October 7 massacre deserve justice'
Among the 140 plaintiffs were family members of former hostages, such as Edan Alexander and Sagui Dekel-Chen.
Plaintiffs David and Hazel Brief, whose son died of wounds sustained during the 2023 attack, said in a statement that “the world must never forget what happened on October 7.”
“Our son’s life was senselessly cut short,” said the bereaved parents. “We believe it is critical that those responsible for the horrific terror inflicted that day are held accountable in a court of law, to ensure the record is clear as to who helped support, plan and carry out the violence that day. We are hopeful that this type of litigation will help prevent attacks like these in the future, so that no other families have to go through losing a loved one as a result of such violence.”
The Thursday lawsuit was the second filed by the ADL and Crowell & Moring, having filed a lawsuit on behalf of 180 plaintiffs against Iran, Syria, and North Korea for their support of Hamas. The 2024 case is still ongoing.