"ISRAELI OFFICIALS AT RISK FOR CIVIL LAWSUITS IN THE US?"

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16/12/2009

"Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni is not the only one, or even one of
a select few, who face the near-certainty of arrest should they make
the mistake of visiting England." According to former Israeli Foreign
Ministry legal adviser Allan Baker, two of every three ministers in
the cabinet would also likely be arrested in a British jail if they
did the same.

Britain is one of several west European countries that have passed
laws granting it international jurisdiction – that is, the right to try
anyone suspected of violating various provisions of international law,
no matter where the alleged crimes were committed or the citizenship
of the suspect.

Meanwhile, four American Jewish groups are urging the US Supreme
Court to reverse a lower court decision that could lead to Israeli
officials being slammed with civil lawsuits in the United States.

Coinciding with a British judge’s decision to sign an arrest warrant
for Livni for "war crimes" during the Israeli aggression against Gaza,
the brief seeks to overturn a Fourth Circuit decision to strip foreign
Israeli officials from immunity in American civil lawsuits.

Written by Washington attorney Nathan Lewin on behalf of the Zionist
Organization of America, the American Association of Jewish Lawyers
and Jurists, Agudath Israel of America and the Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations of America, the "friend of court" brief warns against a
"torrent of unfounded lawsuits against Israeli government officials"
in the absence of absolute immunity.

"Public officials should have the same immunity as their governments
have under federal law in order to enable them to act in accordance
with their best judgment in their roles," Lewin said.

In the US, only prosecutors can pursue criminal charges against an
individual, unlike in Britain, where a private party can initiate
such proceedings.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday blasted the UK
judge’s decision to issue an arrest warrant against Livni, who at
a Tuesday conference in Tel Aviv called the operation a "necessary
option" to defend "Israeli citizens".

"We will not agree to a situation in which [former prime minister]
Ehud Olmert, [Defense Minister] Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni are sitting
on the defendants’ bench," Netanyahu said.

The American Jewish groups’ brief argues that immunity is necessary for
"foreign officials" to make decisions without fear of being punished
later on. Without legal protection, Israeli officials will not visit
the US and American Jews will be deprived of a First Amendment right
to hear free speech and receive information.

"Israel’s adversaries are ready to pursue all possible means to hinder
measures that duly elected Israeli leaders feel are necessary for
Israel’s self-defense," the brief argues.

The brief cites at least 15 present and former Israeli officials who
could face civil or criminal legal actions. "We’d be rather shocked
to see that happen in the US, but nonetheless because of a potential
concern of a situation arising, that’s what motivated us to file this
brief with the Supreme Court," said Nathan Diament, director of the
OU’s Institute for Public Affairs, when asked about the British warrant
for Livni’s arrest. He said it was "hard to imagine a US prosecutor
filing charges against an Israeli official, but an individual filing
a civil lawsuit against an Israeli official is possible."

Earlier Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressed
his dismay over a London court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant
against Livni, but a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry source told
Ynet that the British minister has so far faltered on his promise to
rectify the legal loophole which allows such action to be taken.

According to the source, Tel Aviv was told that until a new British
parliament is elected in May, changing existing legislation is
problematic. "We made it clear that the fact that a judge in the
most remote court in Britain can just issue an arrest warrant against
Israeli officials is utterly unacceptable," said the Israeli source.

Miliband spoke with both Livni and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman
and said he and British Ministry of Public Security officials were
"shocked" to learn of the warrant.

"The procedure by which arrest warrants can be sought and issued
without any prior knowledge or advice by a prosecutor is an unusual
feature of the system in England and Wales. The Government is looking
urgently at ways in which the UK system might be changed in order to
avoid this sort of situation arising again," Miliband said.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon told Ynet that unless
the UK acts immediately, even if the problem cannot be resolved in
parliament as yet, "I’m afraid senior Israeli officials will have no
choice but to avoid visiting London, even for the sake of promoting
strategic moves for peace." Foreign Ministry sources said that there
were no plans to call London Ambassador Ron Prosor back to occupied
Jerusalem at this time.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress