By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2025-03-19 20:45:12 | Updated at 2025-03-20 19:30:41
22 hours ago
The 30-year fight for justice by the family of David Boim, the first American victim of Hamas who was gunned down aged 17, was given a huge boost by the Department of Justice this week.
The DoJ and FBI have formed a new task force to root out US sources of funding for the Gaza-based terrorists.
Joyce and Stanley Boim – parents of David, who was a yeshiva student gunned down by terrorists at a Jerusalem bus stop in May 1996 – say they have spent the last quarter century doing just that.
The Boims launched a federal suit against a handful of US-based non-profits suspected of raising funds for Hamas in 2000 which, due to the twists and turns of the legal system, is still active today.
The elderly couple, Americans who live in Israel, remain optimistic they will continue to expose the groups providing support to Hamas from the US, said Joyce Boim in an email to The Post.
“The lawsuit is a wonderful thing,” said Boim, 79. “I give a lot of credit to my legal team. It is important to fight back any way we can.”
Separately, the DOJ and FBI’s task force will probe the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 Israelis and saw 251 people taken hostage.
“I was livid when I learned about what happened on October 7,” Boim told The Post. “I couldn’t stop crying. I could not fathom how anyone could do something so horrible.”
The task force, made up of FBI agents and prosecutors will also investigate antisemitism and potential acts of terrorism by anyone funding Hamas in the US.
Until recently, the Boims had been alone in attempting to investigate those sources. However, their case has inspired other litigation against US-based non-profits, such as American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Both of those groups, allegedly funded by Hamas, have been behind many of the campus demonstrations in support of Palestine and Hamas.
The Virginia attorney general began its own investigation into fundraising for Hamas in the state in 2023 and the agency led a 22-member coalition of states to support plaintiffs in another case filed by October 7 survivors and their families last year, according to reports.
But the Boim case is still the premiere litigation leading the US charge against Hamas, according to experts.
“The Boim case is the critical pipeline that can unlock a much broader conspiracy, and really dismantle the antisemitic violent operation we see across the country,” said a source with knowledge of the federal task force and probe into Hamas.
“The Boim case is the way into the network.”
The Boims sued several non-profits, including the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development as well as the American Muslim Society and the Quranic Literacy Institute of Oak Lawn, just outside Chicago, in 2000.
The lawsuit was filed under a federal law which allows American victims of terrorists overseas to seek damages against organizations that raise cash in the US.
In 2004, the Boims were awarded a $156 million judgment from the non-profit groups which were found to have aided Hamas in the death of their son. But the defendants never paid.
“When time came to pay the Boim judgement, [the groups] claimed to be out of business and to have ceased operations,” according to court papers.
“Seemingly, the Boim action brought an end to these organizations and their ability to continue raising money. But that was not the case.”
At the end of 2005 a new organization emerged under a new name, American Muslims for Palestine, with the same mission and purpose as IAP. In a 2017 filing the Boims alleged IAP had re-organized as American Muslims for Palestine.
Now, during the “expert discovery” phase of their lawsuit against AMP, the Boims’ lawyers want to get to the bottom of Hamas funding, according to court papers.
Among the questions they want answered are about the relationship between AMP and SJP, which has been organizing the student protests at college campuses across the country, providing toolkits and leading seminars for students on how to set up demonstrations.
Despite the complex litigation now being in its 25th year, the Boims refuse to give up. Joyce Boim said in an opinion piece for The Tablet last year she has visited David’s grave in Israel “hundreds of times” and keeps him informed about the lawsuit.
“I never give a thought to giving up,” Boim told The Post. “We have to fight against these monsters of Hamas in any way we can, and this is my way.
“The lawsuit is not just to help me. It is to help others who have to deal with this evil.”
