ROSH HASHANAH
SECTION A
ATTORNEY-activist Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, head of Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center in Tel Aviv and one of the most famous women in Israel, promptly answers her office phone at 6 p.m. Israel time.
Although she probably wont get home to her six children (three are triplets) for several hours unless court proceedings necessitate a late transatlantic flight conviction trumps fatigue.
Since 1997, Darshan-Leitner and a group of dedicated lawyers have been on the front lines of an unprecedented battle against terrorism one lawsuit at a time.
Palestinians were setting off bombs in our shops every day, she says of the 1990s. They blew up Israelis at bus stops. The government was fairly helpless.
As lawyers, we thought there was another way to fight back.
Their radical solution was deceptively simple.
If you can stop the flow of money, you can stop the terrorism, she says. You cannot commit terrorist acts without money.
The team initiated several cases that struck at the financial heart of state-sponsored terrorism. It was brand new territory for us, says the 37-year-old. We didnt know how the courts would react.
The lawyers decided to pursue the Southern Poverty Law Centers legal model, which nearly crippled the Ku Klux Klan in the US.
The strategy worked. Before long, the courts were exacting significant sums from the PA and Iran, and each victorious verdict attracted media attention. Soon we found ourselves overwhelmed with clients, Darshan-Leitner says.
SHURAT HaDin, established in 2003 to handle the seismic increase in cases, continues winning countless lawsuits against terrorist groups and their financial backers and earning monetary awards for terror victims and their families.
In nine years, the non-profit has won $1 billion in judgments against terrorist groups and the not-so-shadowy regimes that support them; frozen $600 million in assets; and recovered more than $120 million for victims and their families.
Darshan-Leitner and her staff currently represent hundreds of terror victims in lawsuits and legal actions against Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PA, PLO, Hezbollah, Iran, Syria, North Korea and numerous banks (including the Bank of China).
The terrorist attacks that spurred some of these lawsuits the 1972 Lod Airport massacre (25 killed), The Hebrew University bombing (7 dead), Hillel Café (7), to name a few mirror a litany of hate.
We are going after any organization that has acted illegally and to which we have legal recourse, Darshan-Leitner says. Not everything they do is illegal. But when they violate the law, we go after them.
She admits that enforcing judgments is a different story.
You can collect only portions. The $120 million that went to the victims represents the overall portion we have won thus far.
But here and there we collect, she adds modestly.
WHEN she accepted the prestigious Moskowitz Prize for Zionism this spring, Darshan-Leitner brought her six children ages 13, 12, 7, 7, 7 and 4 to the ceremony so they could see what their mother does for a living, she laughs softly.
And they were proud.
Married to Avi Leitner, an American-born lawyer who also works at Shurat HaDin, she is still trying to solve the puzzle of balancing a career and family.
I work many hours a day at the law center, says the vibrant activist who also is a staple of the talk show circuit. I leave for the office at 6 or 7 in the morning. Some nights I dont get home before midnight. And I travel frequently.
Despite her skill in the courtroom, where she routinely disfigures the face of terrorism, she feels Jewish remorse over leaving her growing family for extended periods.
Its not just a Jewish thing, she clarifies. I call it global guilt. Ive met women all over the world who feel like this. India too. I can testify to that.
Still, Im trying to do my very best. Im very involved in my kids lives. I help with their homework. Whether we talk over a cell phone or in emails, I make sure I give them all the help they need.
Sometimes my husband and I spoil them to compensate for the hours were apart, she says. But thank G-d we have great kids, as well as a warm and loving family and a full-time nanny. They are never alone.
AS a child, Darshan-Leitner had no intention of becoming a lawyer. Actually, I was quite sure I was going to be a doctor, she laughs.
Instead of perfunctory Israeli military service, she opted for national service with Magen David Adom. And when I saw how busy the doctors were, I said to myself, I think Ill become a lawyer.
The irony of her decision yields a sustained pause.
Darshan-Leitner is a graduate of the Bar-Ilan University Law Faculty and holds an MBA from Manchester University.
Although its common for Israeli women to have demanding careers, she suggests that marriages often suffer in the process.
I was lucky, says Darshan-Leitner. My husband and I work together, and he is very supportive.
And I had great parents who never forced me to make that horrible choice between family and career. From day one, they have encouraged me to have both.
Opposing counsel must quake when Darshan-Leitner strides into the courtroom.
You can see her smile spreading ear to ear.
No, not really but they do seem to respect me.
IN May, Shurat HaDin won a lawsuit against Syria for $332 million for its role in the April, 2006, Rosh Hair restaurant bombing in Tel Aviv that killed 10 people, including an American teen. Additional cases are pending in Israel against the PA, the PLO and other countries.
The centers bulging caseload draws a veritable map of terrorist attacks in Israel.
We may not be able to stop the terrorists completely, but we can definitely hurt them, Darshan-Leitner says.
We can make sure that banks no longer finance terrorist organizations. We have prevented funds from being distributed to Islamic charities.
Banks are now afraid to open branches in Gaza. The international banks are gone.
Of course I understand that the Palestinians need money to exist but they dont need it to buy bullets or guns to fire at Israel from their backyards.
The Palestinian population will only improve if money is funneled into education, health and social services, not violence.
Despite Shurat HaDins success rate, its impossible to place a price tag on human existence.
Its true. No amount of money can bring back a life, Darshan-Leitner says. It cant heal a leg that was blown off or reattach it to the body. But it can help victims feel like human beings again; memorialize their loved ones; rebuild their lives.
No matter how its used, this money should not stay in the hands of the terrorists.
Copyright © 2012 by the Intermountain Jewish News
