Shurat HaDinIsrael Law Center
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Shurat HaDin · Legal War Room

The law is our strongest weapon

Join the Legal War Room Our four fronts
Launched
October 2023
Volunteer lawyers
600
Project desks
15

Overview

In the wake of the October 7 attack, Shurat HaDin launched its Legal War Room (LWR), harnessing legal talent around the world, to assist Israel at this time of crisis.

Within days of its announcement, over 500 lawyers from 17 different countries joined the LWR. The LWR is our base of operations, working with governmental agencies and the IDF, to initiate and coordinate International legal efforts in defense of Israel and Jews worldwide.

In the spirit of Shurat HaDin, the LWR moved to the offense, taking legal actions against terrorism and antisemitism. The LWR initiates lawsuits against the Hamas terrorist organization, its international financiers and supporters. It initiates court actions against biased media platforms, develops ideas and identifies targets, plans strategies, organizes teams of volunteer attorneys, provides needed resources, and utilizes legal systems and courtrooms around the world to defeat terrorism and safeguard the lives of Israeli soldiers.

Today the Legal War Room is defending Israel against allegations of war crimes, and documenting the war crimes and crimes against humanity that Hamas perpetrates.

“The legal arena is of utmost importance. You can win on the battlefield and still lose the war because of it… It’s a fight for the existence of the State of Israel.”

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder and president, Shurat HaDin

Some of the best legal minds in the world are pro-Israel. The Legal War Room brings them together with Shurat HaDin’s experience in waging lawfare against terrorists and their supporters.

At a glance

Launched
October 2023, in the days after October 7th
Volunteers
Over 500 lawyers from 17 different countries joined within days of its announcement
ICRC demand letter
Signed by more than 1,200 attorneys
Works with
Governmental agencies and the IDF

Calling all lawyers

Law professors and jurists too. Use your legal skills to defend Israel.

Join the Legal War Room

By the numbers

For over twenty years, at the forefront of fighting terrorism

  • 415Legal Actions
  • 70,000Plaintiffs Represented
  • 600Legal War Room Lawyers
  • 350Intern Students

Four fronts

Where the Legal War Room fights

Four fronts of the legal offensive, one team of attorneys, researchers and volunteer lawyers.

All legal actions

  • Front 01

    Fighting Terrorism

    120 plaintiffs in the Qatar suit

    Bankrupting terrorism, one lawsuit at a time. Shurat HaDin works with intelligence and law enforcement agencies to target the terror groups, their leadership and patrons, leading the private sector's war on terrorism.

    A judgment against Iran and Syria in Braun v. Iran (2017)

    Explore the front

  • Front 02

    Combating Antisemitism

    20,000 Israelis in the Facebook suit

    Shurat HaDin works with a network of volunteer lawyers across the globe to combat antisemitism, extremist hate and delegitimization, filing legal challenges to BDS campaigns and warning institutions of their liability for failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from anti-Semitic harassment.

    Airbnb rescinded its boycott listing policy after our lawsuit

    Explore the front

  • Front 03

    Defending IDF Soldiers

    50,000 signatures at The Hague

    With the ICC moving to investigate Israeli soldiers and officials, Shurat HaDin was the first Jewish organization to tackle the ICC danger, beginning its campaign in 2015 by bringing compelling evidence of PA and Hamas war crimes before the court.

    War-crimes complaints against Hamas and PA leaders at the ICC

    Explore the front

  • Front 04

    Training the Next Generation

    Every winter and summer

    Training the next generation of activist attorneys and legal advocates to fight for the rights of the worldwide Jewish community and Israel. Our twice-yearly (winter and summer) internship puts law students to work on actual cases alongside volunteer lawyers from around the world.

    Law students work on actual cases in Israel

    Internship programs

Recent legal actions

From the docket

Dates marked “as reported” come from press coverage, not from court filings.

The full case archive

Lead case ·

Suing Al Jazeera for its ties to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad

A lawsuit on behalf of American victims of the October 7 massacre, filed under the US Anti-Terrorism Act, accuses the Qatari network of providing material support to terrorists: aiding Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad with the communication services that spread their narratives. The complaint documents the “journalists” on Al Jazeera’s payroll who, it alleges, were members of Hamas and played a role in the attack.

The case is pending. According to Shurat HaDin’s 2025 annual report, Al Jazeera is seeking to have it dismissed, and the plaintiffs’ attorneys are fighting to keep it alive.

In the press Israel Hayom · JNS · The Jewish Chronicle · The Jerusalem Post · National Post

Shurat HaDin files suit 2025 Annual Report (PDF)

Also on campus ·

Victims of Hamas terror launch a lawsuit against Students for Justice in Palestine: eight families, 60 plaintiffs, filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

  1. as reported

    International Criminal Court

    Complaints alleging Qatari influence on the ICC Prosecutor

    Filed with the ICC and with Israel’s Attorney General, the complaints allege attempts to improperly influence Prosecutor Karim Khan over the arrest warrants against Israeli officials, conduct Shurat HaDin says could breach Article 70 of the Rome Statute.

  2. as reported

    International Criminal Court

    An ICC complaint against Spain’s prime minister over exports to Iran

    The filing alleges that Pedro Sánchez’s government approved the export of dual-use products that could be used in detonators: “components required by the regime in Tehran and its proxies for military purposes”.

  3. as reported

    UNRWA

    A hostage family sues UNRWA over October 7

    The parents of Yonatan Samerano are suing the UN agency over its employee’s involvement in the October 7 attack.

  4. as reported

    ICC Prosecutor · Jerusalem

    Hostage families sue ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan

    Filed in Jerusalem for the families of Avinatan Or, Eitan Mor and Omri Miran, the suit alleges that Khan aided Hamas by delaying arrest warrants for its leaders.

  5. US Supreme Court

    The right to sue the PA and the PLO, restored

    In a case brought by families of Second Intifada terror victims, the Court unanimously restored Americans’ right to sue the Palestinian Authority and the PLO under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

  6. Legal War Room

    Lawsuit Against the International Committee of the Red Cross for Refusal to Aid Israeli Hostages

    The first lawsuit against the ICRC for not fulfilling its mandate, after a demand letter signed by more than 1,200 attorneys. Covered by The New York Times, Newsweek and Barron’s.

  7. Legal War Room

    A Response to October 7 - The Shurat HaDin Legal War Room

    Within days of its announcement, over 500 lawyers from 17 different countries joined.

Project desks

Fifteen desks where volunteers are needed

Volunteers who join the Legal War Room choose the projects where their skills are needed most. These are the desks on the Legal War Room’s project selection form.

  1. Israeli Law Initiatives

    Education and advocacy

  2. ICRC Legal Demand Letter

    Defending IDF Soldiers

  3. Women’s Rights

    Defending IDF Soldiers

  4. Extradition of Hamas Leaders from the US

    Fighting Terrorism

  5. College Campus Projects

    Combating Antisemitism

  6. Legal Action Against Media Bias and Negligent Reporting

    Combating Antisemitism

  7. Demand Letter to UN Organizations

    Defending IDF Soldiers

  8. War Crimes Allegations

    Defending IDF Soldiers

  9. Combating Terror Financing

    Fighting Terrorism

  10. Actions Against Qatar

    Fighting Terrorism

  11. Actions Against the PA’s “Pay for Slay”

    Fighting Terrorism

  12. Combating Hate on Social Media

    Combating Antisemitism

  13. Education and Legal Advocacy

    Education and advocacy

  14. Help Desk on Protests, for Municipalities and Police Departments

    Combating Antisemitism

  15. Promoting the Designation of Hamas as a Terror Organization

    Fighting Terrorism

Join the Legal War Room Choose your desk on the live form

Questions? Write to LWR@israellawcenter.org

Get involved

Join the fight

  • Volunteer your legal skills

    Lawyers, law professors and jurists anywhere in the world can join the Legal War Room and choose a project desk.

    Join the Legal War Room

  • Train with us in Israel

    Our twice-yearly internship, in winter and summer, puts law students to work on actual cases alongside volunteer lawyers.

    Internship programs

  • Learn advocacy

    The Legal Academy Seminar trains advocates in Israel. Dates to be announced.

    Legal Academy Seminar

  • Follow the cases

    Read the full docket of Shurat HaDin’s legal actions, from terror-financing suits to ICC complaints.

    All legal actions