FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 6, 2000

SCHUMER CALLS FOR STATE AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CRACKDOWN ON CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS WITH TERRORIST TIES

Says that Inability to Prosecute Groups Such As the Holy Land Foundation Undermine Departments' Anti-Terrorist Efforts

Senator Charles E. Schumer today wrote Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and Attorney General Janet Reno to demand that the State and Justice Departments crack down on American organizations with financial ties to terrorist organizations. In the letter, Schumer urged the two departments to step up their efforts to prosecute American charities, such as the Holy Land Foundation, that have clear links to terrorist groups.

"The fact that an organization such as the Holy Land Foundation is permitted to exist and flourish within our borders is not only harmful to American interests, it also gives the appearance that our commitment to fighting terrorism is not all it should be," Schumer wrote. "It is my hope that Holy Land, and all American organizations with knowing financial ties to terrorist groups, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

The Holy Land Foundation, one of the largest Muslim charities in the United States, has clear links to the terrorist organization Hamas, a group that is responsible for dozens of attacks on American and Israeli citizens. In recognition of these terrorist ties, the State Department recently requested that the US Agency for International Development (AID) take Holy Land off its list of registered charities, making it ineligible for federal assistance.

While Schumer described the department's action as a "step in the right direction," he decried the fact that an American organization conducting illegal terrorist activities be allowed to even remain open for business. "Why is Holy Land not being prosecuted under sections of the 1996 Antiterrorism Act intended to crack down on the problem of terrorist fund-raising in the United States?" Schumer asked in the letter.

Schumer called on Albright and Reno to enforce the 1996 antiterrorist legislation and prosecute groups such as Holy Land "to the fullest extent of the law." He also requested that Albright and Reno provide an update on their departments' policies regarding the tracking, uncovering, and prosecution of charitable organizations that fund terrorist groups.

"Half a loaf isn't good enough when it comes to cracking down on terrorism," Schumer added.

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