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Advocacy Blog
Friday, May 11, 2007
Charity Sues Yale University Press
KinderUSA, a Muslim-American charity has filed a lawsuit on April 26 against Yale University Press over a book, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, which accuses it as being a front for terrorist groups like Hamas. The book was written by Matthew Levitt, who directs a program on intelligence, terror, and policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and both are named as co-defendants in the lawsuit.
Part of the suit focuses on text that states; "The formation of KinderUSA highlights an increasingly common trend: banned charities continuing to operate by incorporating under new names in response to designation as terrorist entities or in an effort to evade attention. This trend is also seen with groups raising money for al-Qaeda." The footnote to this paragraph mentions two officers of KinderUSA and continues with a discussion of al-Qaeda funding networks, without informing the reader that there is no allegation that KinderUSA is tied to al-Qaeda.
The charity has asked the university press and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy to issue a public retraction, but both have refused. Yale Press stated that they did not do fact-checking; however they are now aware of the inaccuracy and continue to distribute the book. Read the complaint here
Posted by Amanda Adams
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