After years of allegations, investigations, and publications on the ties between Hamas and the Ra’am political party and its affiliates, the Tel Aviv District Court issued a ruling stating that there are serious suspicions that the party and its affiliates have participated in terror financing and have links with Hamas. In particular, the ruling mentioned the Support 48 nonprofit, and senior members of the party.
Judge Limor Bibi rejected Support 48's request for relief against Bank Leumi, which froze the organization’s account over suspicions of terror financing. The judge also ordered that Support 48 pay legal costs in the amount of 15,000 NIS. The judge ruled that the bank presented compelling evidence, relying largely on investigations by HaKol HaYehudi, the Choosing Life Forum, and Ad Kan.
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The judge emphasized that Support 48’s request did not meet the legal standard, as the risk to Bank Leumi leaving the account unrestricted was large. She said in her decision, “I believe that at this point the bank has provided sufficient evidence to support its decision and that there is reason to be concerned about the organization in question.”
The judge highlighted images uncovered by HaKol HaYehudi showing senior officials from Support 48 together with leaders of the Hamas affiliate Hir Ummah. Among those in the images were Support 48’s Director Razi Issa standing under a Hir Ummah poster, and activist Na’al Issa with Amin Abu Rashad.
The judge also cited HaKol HaYehudi’s report showing a video of Razi Issa praising Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin. This speech took place at a conference organized by the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement and Issa called himself “a student and follower of the path” of Ahmed Yassin.
“One cannot ignore the recording where the leader of the nonprofit referred to Sheikh Yassin as a ‘martyr’ and his attempts to explain away this recording were not convincing… It cannot be ignored that these are the views of the person at the head of this nonprofit,” wrote the Judge.
The Judge also noted a contradiction in Razi Issa’s testimony who claimed on the one hand not to know about Amin Abu Rashad but on the other knew exactly which organization Rashad was part of, suggesting that he did know who Rashad was.
Our investigations found continuous ties between the Support 48 nonprofit and the Turkish Hamas-affiliated association Hir Ummah. Between 2020-2023, Support 48 transferred over $580,000 to the Turkish Hamas association.
We showed that the connection between the two groups began as early as 2016 and that millions more were likely transferred to the Hamas association. Members of Support 48 went on missions every few months to Turkey in collaboration with the Hamas group, and even held a number of joint summer camps for Syrian children.
These camps, called "Al-Quds Camp," were managed by Nussiba Issa, a member of Ra’am’s Shura Council and daughter of the founder of the Islamic Movement in Israel Abdullah Nimr Darwish. She is currently among the leaders of the Ra’am party.
During the camps, materials containing incitement against Israel were distributed. In one event, a sheikh encouraged the children to go to Jerusalem with weapons and stated that the future lies in the tunnels of Gaza and not the tunnels of Oslo. The children were also taught about the right of return and sang militant songs.
We also exposed connections between Support 48 and Amin Abu Rashad, a member of Hamas' European leadership who in 2013 was declared a terrorist by the Minister of Defense. Abu Rashad is currently detained in the Netherlands after the Ad Kan organization and Zvi Yechezkeli exposed his activities. Our investigation showed that members of Support 48 worked jointly with Abu Rashad in both 2016 and 2022, even as Ra’am was part of Israel’s governing coalition.
The Choosing Life Forum of bereaved families said: "As we have claimed from the beginning and provided evidence, Ra’am and its affiliates are working with Hamas. We expect the Israeli Police, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the Attorney General to review the documents we sent. In addition, we call on all Zionist parties in the Knesset to set a clear red line against any future government coalition with Ra’am and make it clear that terror supporters are not welcome in the Knesset."
Gilad Ach, Director of the Ad Kan organization, said: "This is a major achievement for the Israeli public. The court ruled that Support 48 is likely financing and supporting terror and that blocking its account is reasonable. Ad Kan will continue to act as a watchdog for the people of Israel and will expose our enemies both from within and outside."
