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"Libel tourism" legislation takes national stage

Shari Hillman — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A Senate Judiciary Committee press release notes that Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) have introduced the Free Speech Protection Act of 2008.

This bill would protect American journalists from libel suits brought in foreign courts that do not have the same protections for free speech that are found in the U.S. constitution. It mirrors H.R. 5814, legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Peter King (R-NY).
...The impetus for this legislation is litigation involving Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld... [whose] 2003 book, Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed and How to Stop It ...alleged that a Saudi Arabian subject and his family financially supported Al Qaeda in the years preceding the attacks of September 11. He sued Ehrenfeld for libel in England.
The United Kingdom has become a popular venue for defamation plaintiffs from around the world, because under English law it is not necessary for a libel plaintiff to prove falsity or actual malice as is required in the United States. The U.S. journalists or publications who are named as defendants in these suits must deal with the expense, inconvenience and distress of being sued in foreign courts, even though their conduct is protected by the First Amendment in the United States.

Statement of Sen. John McCain on the 60th anniversary of Israel`s founding

Shari Hillman — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"I join all Americans in offering my heartiest congratulations to the Israeli people on the 60th anniversary of their state's founding....

"Challenges to Israel have perhaps been the norm, rather than the exception, and its people have been tested in the crucible of conflict time and again. Those threats continue, and it is incumbent upon all free people to stand by Israel in her defense of our common values and ideals. Survival in the face of these enduring trials would be impressive; flourishing would seem out of the question. Yet Israel has thrived, and her people have built a nation that is an inspiration to all those who cherish freedom.

"The close and enduring U.S.- Israel relationship has thrived as well, and I am proud to support the vital ties between our two countries. Our bond will be of great importance in order to continually fulfill that aspiration sounded so eloquently in the HaTikva: 'to be a free nation.' As Israelis celebrate 60 years of independence, let no one doubt that, while the challenges will continue, Israel will survive and it will flourish. There will always be an Israel, and there will always be a vital bond between our two peoples."

The Truth Laces Up Its Shoes

Shari Hillman — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

At the Powerline blog, an analysis of the news story that began last Monday. That's when Israel killed armed terrorists in Beit Hanun in Gaza, and, sadly, members of a family in a nearby house were killed by munitions carried by the terrorists.

How the story was reported and how it developed are a classic example of anti-Israel media bias.

Bill to protect writers from "libel tourism" signed into law in New York.

Shari Hillman — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Good news from the American Center for Democracy:

New York State Governor David Paterson yesterday signed the "Libel Terrorism Protection Act" (S.6687/A.9652), which on March 31 passed the state's Assembly and Senate unanimously.

Also known as Rachel's Law, the bill will protect American journalists and authors from foreign lawsuits that infringe on First Amendment rights.

In Ehrenfeld v. Mahfouz, New York State's highest court held that it was unable to protect Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld from a British lawsuit filed by Saudi billionaire Khalid Salim Bin Mahfouz. Britain's High Court ordered her to pay over $225,000 in damages and legal fees to Bin Mahfouz, apologize and destroy copies of her books.

Instead Dr. Ehrenfeld sought a U.S. federal court order to protect her constitutional rights. But a New York Court of Appeals ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to protect Americans - on U.S. soil - from foreign defamation judgments that contradict the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Rachel's Law corrects that problem by declaring overseas defamation judgments unenforceable in New York State unless the foreign defamation law provides, in substance and application, the same free speech protections guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

Jewish woman named ambassador to the U.S. - from Bahrain!

Shari Hillman — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A Pakistani newspaper, Dawn, reports:

Bahrain is nominating a Jewish woman as its ambassador to the United States, press reports said.
...Huda Nonoo, a businesswoman, was also the first Jewish woman to sit in the Bahriani Shura Council, the 40-member upper house of the bicameral legislature, replacing her uncle.
She is also the first Jewish woman to head a rights organisation, the Bahrain Human Rights Watch, as its secretary-general.
The appointment of Huda is based on her qualification and not just ‘a public relationing campaign’ by the island kingdom, her colleagues in Shura insisted.
Huda Nonoo belongs to a tiny Jewish community in Bahrain, dating back to the Talmudic era. Her forefathers migrated from Iraq in the late 19th century.