How much responsibility do social media groups bear for encouraging terrorism and extremism?  That question lies at the heart of a momentous lawsuit that has been making its way through the US legal system and which is about to be decided by the United States Supreme Court in June.

The driving force behind the legal challenge, which aims to curb social media giants’ ability to serve as conduits for terrorist and extremist messaging, is Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, president of Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center.

On Sunday, May 7 at 12:30 pm, Darshan-Leitner will appear live from Israel via Zoom at Adas Yeshurun Herzlia, 620 Brock Street, as the 6^th Annual Distinguished Lecturer. She will share how Shurat HaDin has been using courts in various countries to attempt to mitigate the terrible effect of terrorist activities in Israel and beyond, and how her journey of 22 years led Shurat HaDin to the US Supreme Court this past February.

Shurat HaDin realized years ago that money drives terrorism, and when funding is cut, terrorism is reduced.  Israel set up an intelligence taskforce led by the Mossad to interrupt the flow of money. Shurat HaDin lawyers were invited by the Mossad to follow the money, and relentlessly pursue the financial streams, institutions, and bank accounts of the regimes that fund terrorism in court. Mossad’s efforts and Shurat HaDin’s successes substantially effected the CIA and others’ effort in the same field, and today’s covert war against terrorism’s money masters has evolved to encompass Big Tech and social media.

When the Facebook Intifada began in 2015 with a series of seemingly random lone-wolf attacks on Israelis, Shurat HaDin realized that social media was the conduit for incitement, fundraising, and glorification of terrorism. Despite efforts to engage social media owners in the curtailment of terrorism, an outdated section of the US Communications Decency Act absolved social media of any responsibility for the content it carries. After 7 years of losses in lower courts against the social media giants who carry content on the internet, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear their arguments.

Please join us on Sunday, May 7^th at 620 Brock Street for a fascinating lecture. Tickets and sponsorships are available by contacting the synagogue office at 204 489-6262 or [email protected]