See you in court: Qatar’s Al Jazeera has stoked controversy for platforming terrorists in the Middle East, and both the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority have banned it. The network also maintains an office in Washington, D.C., and victims of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack are now putting its American outpost on notice.
Plaintiffs in a new lawsuit, including the uncle of murdered hostage Shiri Bibas, sued Al Jazeera in D.C. district court “for aiding, abetting, and knowingly providing support and resources” to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. They argue that by “employing and compensating journalists who are Hamas and PIJ operatives, compensating FTO leaders and operatives for interviews to incite violence, as well as providing a platform for Hamas and PIJ to organize their terrorist agenda,” Al Jazeera should be on the hook for damages—not just in the Middle East but in America, where all of the plaintiffs live or hold citizenship.
“While Al Jazeera is headquartered in Doha, where senior Hamas members lived in luxury, it operates 70 bureaus worldwide, including one in Washington, D.C,” reports the Free Beacon‘s Adam Kredo.
“Since Hamas is not designated as a terrorist organization in Qatar, the Oct. 7 victims are turning to the American court system, where they can seek financial penalties against Al Jazeera under the Anti-Terrorism Act. By naming Al Jazeera International as a defendant in the case, they are hoping to prove that the network’s Washington branch knowingly provided material support to Hamas and PIJ.”
READ MORE: How a Lawsuit From Oct. 7 Victims, Including Bibas Family Uncle, Could Cripple Al Jazeera
Pulling the plug: Maryland was one of 12 states to adopt California’s so-called Advanced Clean Cars rule, which stipulates that every new car must be electric by 2035. Now, it’s quietly backing down.
The state’s Democratic governor, Wes Moore, signed a little-noticed executive order on Friday that halts Maryland’s enforcement of the rule. He pointed to the Trump administration’s moves to reverse Biden-era EV regulations, citing “indications that the policies of the current federal Administration will greatly impact … compliance.”
“The action is a blow to left-wing politicians and activists who pushed a nationwide transition from gas-powered vehicles to EVs,” writes our Thomas Catenacci. “And it is a victory for both President Donald Trump, who campaigned on scrapping EV mandates, and the auto industry, which has opposed such mandates as impractical.”
READ MORE: Trump Policies Push Maryland To Unplug Its EV Mandate
The enemy within: Last week, Northwestern University’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter held an “Organizing Safety 101” training session. While the title may sound benign, the materials distributed to students were anything but.
The meeting featured two pamphlets, one from anarchist group Unity of Fields and another from Northwestern SJP itself. The former quoted a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist urging students to “build an Intifada” so they could “destroy amerika.” The latter featured a PFLP cartoon and encouraged readers to “channel [their] anger” to “aid in the fight” against Israel.
“The event coincides with the Trump administration’s intensifying efforts to address anti-Semitism within American higher education institutions, slashing more than $430 million in federal funds at Columbia University and threatening to cut another $9 billion in grants and contracts at Harvard University,” our Jessica Costescu reports. “And on Tuesday, the Trump administration froze $790 million at Northwestern amid a civil rights investigation, the New York Times reported.”
Away from the Beacon:
- At it again: Jasmine Crockett, speaking at an anniversary program for a Baptist church in Connecticut, had this to say about illegal immigration: “The fact is that ain’t none of y’all trying to go and farm right now. … We done picking cotton.”
- Rashida Tlaib, call your office: After we reported on Tlaib’s appearance at a New Jersey conference alongside an admitted PFLP operative, Rep. Josh Gottheimer called on the DOJ to investigate the group behind it, the Palestinian American Community Center.
- Ahead of weekend nuclear negotiations with Iran, Bibi Netanyahu said he discussed the potential terms of a deal “at length with President Trump.” They include the “explosion” of all of Iran’s nuclear facilities and the “dismantling of all equipment—under American supervision and implemented by Americans.”
