The Lawfare Project (LP) is a leading organization dedicated to protecting the civil and human rights of Jewish people worldwide through legal action. Recently, LP achieved a major victory in the fight against antisemitism stemming from its lawsuit against the former Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, which alleges that she undertook illegal discriminatory measures targeting Israel.
Following The Lawfare Project’s lawsuit, Colau was voted out of office and now, after evaluating the circumstances, the new mayor, Jaume Collboni, reversed her actions and restored relations with sister city Tel Aviv and with Israel, signaling that he was bringing an end to Colau’s discriminatory and illegal boycott.
In April, LP filed a lawsuit that challenged Colau’s February 8, 2023 suspension of relations with Israel and all its institutions, including the international agreement of cooperation and friendship signed with the city of Tel Aviv. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Barcelona Institute for Dialogue with Israel, a local charity. Colau justified the boycott of Israel based on alleged “systematic violation of human rights” and publicly stating that “Barcelona says no to apartheid.”
“The decision by Mayor Collboni to respect the rule of law and restore relations with Israel and cooperation with Tel Aviv corrects Colau’s complete abuse of power to engage in a bigoted and partisan campaign targeting the Jewish people,” said Brooke Goldstein, Founder and Executive Director of The Lawfare Project. “This shows the importance of using the legal system to fight to uphold our rights to be free of discrimination, including antisemitic campaigns that attack Israel by using false, racist allegations. I am proud of the work our team accomplished by securing this victory, and we remain vigilant in our fight to defend the rights of the Jewish community around the world. Mayor Collboni should visit Israel to better appreciate the diversity and strength of the indigenous homeland of the Jewish people, and to once and for all put an end to the hatred that stems from ignorance about our democratic values.”
LP defends civil and human rights of the Jewish community across a range of cross-cutting areas. They have:
- Forced Kuwait Airways to terminate half of its U.S. operations and all inter-European flight routes due to its practice of discriminating against Israeli passport-holders.
- Succeeded in canceling a Hamas event scheduled to be held at an InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) hotel in Doha, Qatar by advising IHG on the criminal and civil liabilities that can attach for hosting a designated terrorist organization.
- Stopped corporations from implementing BDS practices by counseling them on the legal implications (and penalties) of discriminatory commercial conduct.
- Successfully demanded that U.S. Congress hold the United Nations accountable for promoting and inciting violent radicalization among Palestinian children in UNWRA refugee camps.
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