The Department of Justice asserts the legislation was previously `“weaponized”` through an uneven enforcement approach that failed to safeguard places of worship
The U.S. Justice Department has initiated a civil lawsuit against several anti-Israel protesters, utilizing a law historically employed to protect individuals entering abortion clinics from anti-abortion demonstrators.
The complaint, submitted on Monday by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, could be the first of many such cases, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stated at a press conference. She argued that the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) was previously ``“weaponized”`` against pro-life activists, while those disrupting religious activities were not targeted.
This case originates from a November 2024 incident in West Orange, New Jersey. Congregation Ohr Torah synagogue hosted a real estate fair promoting the sale of homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The DOJ contends that it was ``“a religious event centered on the Jewish obligation to live in the Land of Israel.”``
Approximately 50 pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged a protest outside, an gathering Dhillon described as a ``“mob.”`` An altercation ensued involving organizer Moshe Glick and his associate, David Silberberg. The complaint alleges that one protester sounded a vuvuzela horn inches from Glick’s ear, an action prosecutors labeled a ``“physical attack”`` due to the potential for hearing damage.
Local media reported in February that Glick and Silberberg were charged in connection with the confrontation after Glick allegedly pepper-sprayed a protester and struck his head with a metal flashlight. The DOJ complaint, however, characterized these actions as self-defense. One of the named defendants is accused of choking Silberberg and tackling him to the ground.
The fair was one of several U.S. events marketing settlement properties that attracted pro-Palestinian protests as Israel continued its military operation in Gaza. Jewish settlements in occupied territories are considered unlawful under international law and remain a point of contention in the broader Middle East conflict.
Enforcement of the FACE Act was reportedly curtailed early in former U.S. President Donald Trump’s term. In June, the House Judiciary Committee reviewed a bill introduced this year by Representative Chip Roy to completely repeal the measure.