NEW YORK The Zionist Organization of American Center for Law & Justice (ZOA-CLJ) has begun a special project to secure voluntary legal assistance for American victims of foreign terrorism. The new pro bono program, called Project Light of Justice, will help obtain compensation for American victims of terrorist violence.
Project Light of Justice will connect American victims of terrorism with sophisticated and experienced litigators willing to help the victims – without fee – to obtain compensation from those responsible. The ZOA-CLJ has issued a call to lawyers and law firms everywhere to join the roster of volunteers who have the will and the resources to pursue justice for this unique set of plaintiffs.
The ZOA-CLJ is also reaching out to all American citizens who have lost a family member to, or have been injured by, foreign terrorism.” Ezra Reinstein, Esq., Director of the ZOA-CLJ, explained: “We are enlisting the help of our country’s talented attorneys to take on the representation of the American victims of terrorism and their families, without fee or cost to the victim. The ZOA-CLJ will act as a coordinator between victim and attorney. We will also facilitate communication among volunteer attorneys and experts to help share litigation strategies and other useful information. So far, the response has been very encouraging.”
Mr. Reinstein stressed the importance of providing free legal assistance to this particular class of victims: “Not only are these people suffering the death of a loved one or an injury to themselves, they must also contend with the knowledge that they have been used as pawns, as the means to the terrorists’ depraved ends. Worse still, litigation on their behalf often faces special hurdles. This is salt in their wounds. The legal community must now come together to assure the victims that they will not be forgotten, that their pain and loss is not without consequence.”
The ZOA-CLJ encourages both American victims of terrorism and lawyers interested in volunteering to contact Mr. Reinstein at (212) 481-1500, extension 226. He pointed out that, in addition to helping victims of terrorist violence, Project Light of Justice can help prevent future attacks: “With any luck, a lawsuit will help to dismember terrorist organizations’ finances, crippling their destructive potential -just as the Southern Poverty Law Center has done to the KKK and Aryan Nation. By taking action, we send a message: we will not forget the victims. There must be no such thing as ‘risk-free’ terrorism.”