Lawfare: a tool of far-right repression

This investigation was prompted by notorious anti-Palestinian agitator David Abrams and the entire investigation was clearly politically motivated. While we think the charges are outrageous and inaccurate, Jewish Voice for Peace ultimately determined that opposing this ideologically fueled investigation would have cost more than the settlement itself, and would have functioned as a considerable distraction at a time when our organization was laser-focused on trying to stop the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza.

– JVP Executive Director Stefanie Fox

Weaponizing legal warfare

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was a loan program that helped small businesses pay their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of a spate of politically motivated attacks, notorious anti-Palestinian lawyer David Abrams prompted the Department of Justice to open an investigation into JVP’s eligibility for a second PPP loan.  

This attack is just one example of the far-right repressive playbook used against Palestinian rights organizing – weaponizing legal warfare or “lawfare” to attempt to distract human rights groups from our work for justice, equality, and freedom. The politically-motivated nature of the investigation is underscored by the fact that the same PPP funds were granted to many of the most virulent anti-Palestinian groups in the U.S., groups that do extensive political lobbying.

David Abrams & the Zionist Advocacy Center

David Abrams is an anti-Palestinian lawyer and the executive director of the Zionist Advocacy Center (TZAC). TZAC a registered foreign agent for the International Legal Forum (ILF), which collaborates with the Israeli government and has reportedly received up to $1 million from Israel.

Abrams and TZAC have brought numerous harassing lawsuits, against advocates for Palestinian human rights and organizations providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians. Many of these lawsuits have been dismissed. JVP has now become the subject of one of Abrams’ litigious and unfounded attacks. 
Abrams is known for his numerous failed and frivolous lawsuits. In 2015, TZAC sued the Carter Center, alleging the renowned peacebuilding organization defrauded the U.S. government in violation of the False Claims Act when it hosted a meeting for Palestinian political leaders. Abrams demanded the Carter Center pay $91,716,000, plus costs and “an appropriate award” to TZAC, under the theory that providing fruit, water and space for a meeting constituted material support for terrorism. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice rejected this idea and asked the federal court to dismiss the case. The following year, the court granted the dismissal.

JVP and the PPP loan program

Like thousands of nonprofits across the country, JVP received two PPP loans in the height of COVID, which was critical to maintaining our organizing for justice and human rights during those years of financial precarity. 

Many of the most politically active and ardent lobbyists against Palestinian rights and in support of the genocide in Gaza received PPP funds, and have not been the subject of any investigations.

The details of our loan were perfectly ordinary — we maintain we did absolutely nothing wrong. 

However, we determined that opposing a politically motivated investigation would cost more than the settlement itself. Furthermore, while the investigation was initiated in 2022, after the Israeli government began its assault on Gaza and our protests began to make headlines, the US government’s requests for information began to extend far beyond the remit of the investigation. Most importantly, we understood that the investigation would constitute a major distraction while we were organizing as rapidly as possible in opposition to the genocide in Gaza.

This is the exact reason lawfare is such a nefarious strategy — it puts organizations working for justice in positions with no perfect decision. But saving lives is of the utmost importance to us, and so a settlement agreement was the strongest way to resist these repressive attacks. 

While the Justice Department alleges that it determined JVP was engaged in “political activities” it does not suggest that the organization was engaged in partisan activities in violation of 501c3. JVP is strict about complying with 501c3’s prohibition on such activities. We also disagree with the characterization of JVP as primarily engaging in even nonpartisan political activities during the period in question. Indeed, JVP Action – a 501(c)(4) organization affiliated with JVP is primarily engaged in policy advocacy precisely because JVP is not.