Hizbullah flag
Hizbullah flagIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The Anti-Defamation League has called the European Union’s decision to designate the military wing of Hizbullah as a terrorist organization “a positive political statement, but a flawed counter-terrorism strategy.”

The organization reiterated profound concerns that the partial blacklisting of Hizbullah would be largely ineffectual, because law enforcement will not be able to comprehensively target Hizbullah’s financial activities in Europe.

“Highlighting Hezbollah’s involvement in terrorism is a positive political statement, but a flawed counter-terrorism strategy,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  “Since terror-related operational activities are already illegal throughout the E.U., the high-value counter-terrorism target remains Hezbollah’s financing activities in Europe – and that target was missed.”

In June 2012, ADL wrote to Baroness Catherine Ashton, vice president of the European Commission, noting that the delineation between Hizbullah’s terrorist and political activities was a distinction without a difference.

In 2009, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem stated that “Hezbollah has a single leadership,” and that “all political, social and jihad work is tied to the decisions of this leadership. The same leadership that directs the parliamentary and government work also leads jihad actions in the struggle against Israel.”

“The long and public debate on this issue has given Hezbollah plenty of time to organize a charade of fundraising and financial operations through so-called political front groups,” Foxman said.  “The best evidence of this decision’s ineffectiveness is Hezbollah’s utter indifference to it.  The fact remains: funding for Hezbollah is funding for terrorism.”

In a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case on terrorism financing, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, the League brought substantive expertise on terrorist organizations to the attention of the Court in an amicus brief, arguing that all activities of terrorist organizations are inextricably linked. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. cited ADL’s brief in his finding that funds raised for putatively charitable purposes by three major terrorist groups -- the Kurdistan Workers' Party (the "PKK"), the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the "LTTE") and Hamas – have been and could be redirected for terrorist purposes.