Mizrachi SA Jewish Observer - Pesach 2016 | Page 34

LAWFARE

STEPHEN FLATOW – A
FATHER’S FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
SUE CHALOM

As a private citizen, Flatow was prevented from suing
foreign governments, so he took matters into his own
hands and after three attempts, he managed to change
the law, which would now allow citizens the right to
sue foreign governments. To this end, he sued Iran and
was awarded damages of 247 million dollars; 25 million
in compensatory damages and 200 million in punitive
damages. Instead of Iran paying the money back, the
United States awarded Flatow with 20 million dollars
which they stated they would claim back from Iran when
relations between the two countries improved.
Fueled by this move, Flatow began further investigations
to uncover Iranian-owned assets in the United States,
and as there were sanctions preventing Iran from
doing business in the US, it seemed on the surface, there
were none. With the help of an analyst at the District
Attorney’s office, Eitan Arusy, they discovered that the
Alavi Foundation – what seemed to be established to
promote Iranian culture – was actually operated and
owned by the national government-owned bank, Bank
Melli. Coincidently, Arusy (who had previously been a
soldier in, and later a spokesperson for, the IDF), had
responded to the scene of the same bus bombing Alisa
was involved in.

THIS STORY is about a father’s love
for his daughter, and, in making sense of her tragic
death, unwittingly uncovering foreign corruption in
America which was right under their noses…

In 1995, Alisa Flatow was tragically killed in the Gaza
Strip. Whilst studying at Brandeis University, she was
granted time “off” where she went to study for six
months at Nishmat in Jerusalem. As a passionate
supporter of Israel and a proud Jew, she had travelled to
Israel many times, and had even wanted a career as a
spokesperson for Israel and the Jewish people.
It was whilst she was travelling on a bus to a Jewish
settlement in Gaza for a short vacation with her friends,
that she was mortally wounded by a suicide bomber,
when a tiny piece of shrapnel struck the back of her
head. She was brain dead, and in a controversial move,
her family decided to donate her organs, a practise
encouraged by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. According
to her father, it was a way they could “save a Jewish life”
after losing their daughter’s. Three lives were extended
through her organ donation.
But he didn’t stop there. Flatow soon realised that he
could do something constructive – he could become an
activist for the Jewish people, specifically for the state
of Israel, against Terrorism, and keep Alisa’s memory
alive. As a real-estate attorney in New Jersey, he decided
to obtain justice using the law, and he wanted to file
a law suit against Iran, which, it was believed, was the
financial sponsor of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad which
funded attacks such as the one Alisa had been tragically
involved in.

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“Something
sacred has
been borne
out of the
most horrific
evil.”

In an attempt to secure justice for the death of his
daughter, Flatow actually had uncovered
international bank fraud, as a number of European banks
were laundering money for the Iranians through the United States. In order to hide the illegal transactions made
to the Alavi Foundation, the Iranian clients’ names were
removed from European bank records. After Lloyds and
Credit Suisse paid fines of $350 million and $536 million
respectively, it came to light that BNP, the largest bank in
France, had laundered tens of billions of dollars of Iranian
money: the whistleblowers were two employees of BNP.
Flatow and his wife have started a foundation in Alisa’s
name, using the money they received as a payout from
Iranian terrorism: it offers young Jewish women around
the world the opportunity to study Torah for a semester
in Jerusalem. Something sacred has been borne out of the
most horrific evil. And this is testament to Alisa’s driving
force, and the tenacity of her father to remain positive.
As her father stated: “Alisa has been the source of
strength and encouragement these past [twenty-one]
years. … I’m still her father and we do anything for our
children.” ■