'Audacity of Hope' vs. state of Israel: The battle begins
Group seeks to break blockade that keeps Hamas from re-arming
Posted: August 09, 2010
By Aaron Klein
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
TEL AVIV – Will the Justice Department prosecute associates of President Obama who are organizing flotillas and marches in support of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip?
That question is being asked by pundits as several of Obama's associates are participating in efforts to end Israel's naval blockade of Gaza – a blockade that is legal according to international law and that Israel says is necessary to ensure the Hamas terror group does not re-arm itself by sea. Indeed, ships loaded with weapons have been caught multiple times heading for Gaza.
Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy argued at National Review Online that the federal government should investigate Columbia University Professor Rashid Khalidi, a pro-Palestinian Liberation Organization activist known for his friendship with Obama.
Khalidi and other Obama associates are members of an American effort to raise $370,000 to finance the purchase of a U.S. ship in an effort to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. The tentative name of the ship is "The Audacity of Hope," after Obama's autobiography.
McCarthy argues the Justice Department, under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, could investigate Khalidi and other flotilla organizers for providing material support to Hamas, which is designated by the State Department as a terrorist organization.
Jonathan Schanzer points out at the Weekly Standard that according to a Supreme Court decision in June, Holder vs. Humanitarian Law Project, the prohibition against material support to terrorists can apply even when the offerings are not money or weapons.
At American Thinker, Ed Lasky asks, "Will Holder investigate this effort to help Hamas? Will he implicate Barack Obama's friend? This is one area where I have no hope."
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