The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) joined in an amicus brief that was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on February 4, 2025, in two consolidated cases brought by American terror victims (Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization and United States v. Palestine Liberation Organization). The Supreme Court will be deciding whether the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (PSJVTA), which confers federal court jurisdiction over the PLO and PA in international terrorism cases brought by American terror victims, violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Showing the critical importance of the PSJVTA, the amicus brief describes the PLO and PA’s long history of not only planning and committing terrorist attacks against civilians – including Americans – but also encouraging participation in the attacks by compensating and rewarding the terrorists. Often referred to as “Pay for Slay,” this official government program of the PLO and PA pays terrorists and their families through stipends and long-term benefits. The more deadly the terrorist attack and the longer the terrorist’s prison sentence, the greater the financial reward. Because of Pay for Slay, many Americans were maimed and killed at the hands of these terrorists; the brief movingly identifies some of the victims.
Enacted in 2019, the PSJVTA provides that the PLO and PA are deemed to have given their consent to personal jurisdiction in America’s federal courts if (1) at any time after the law’s enactment, they paid terrorists, either dead or in prison, who were responsible for the deaths or injuries of U.S. nationals; or (2) they conduct activities in the United States, with certain exceptions. The brief establishes that the PLO and PA fit into both categories, rendering it fair and reasonable to require them to answer for the commission of their terrorist acts against Americans in our federal courts. The amicus brief shows that upholding the PSJVTA will deter future terrorism that puts more American lives at risk.
Attorneys Mark I. Pinkert, Jason Torchinsky, Erielle Davidson, and Jared S. Bauman of the law firm of Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC spearheaded the preparation of the amicus brief. They filed it on behalf of a coalition of 17 Jewish, pro-Israel, and civil rights organizations, including the ZOA.
ZOA National President Morton Klein stated, “The ZOA has a long history of fighting for the rights of American victims of terrorism, so that they can secure at least some measure of justice against terrorist sponsors like the PLO and PA. We were proud to join in this amicus brief and to urge the Supreme Court to uphold a law that is fair, reasonable, and a constitutional exercise of Congress’s authority to make the PLO and PA answerable in our courts for their heinous crimes against Americans.”
Susan B. Tuchman, Esq., director of ZOA’s Center for Law and Justice, added: “The PLO and PA were on notice that making payments to terrorists who harm and kill Americans would trigger jurisdiction over them in American federal courts. Yet they continued to make those payments. They cannot reasonably argue that it would be unfair for them to be sued here. In fact, fairness requires that the PLO and PA be held accountable in the United States for the injuries they caused and the grave risks they continue to pose to American lives.”