In her fourth speaking engagement with Development Corporation for Israel/Israel Bonds’ Women’s Division, Israeli attorney and human rights activist, founder of Shurat HaDin Law Center and best-selling author, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Esq. addressed over 70 women from the New York metro area who gathered to hear of her heroic efforts in leading the legal fight against terror financing, the BDS movement and courtroom tactics utilized against the Jewish state by its enemies. The event, held on Monday, February 4 at The Continental building in Manhattan, attracted many new women investors and fell on the heels of Bonds’ Women’s Division of Rockland and Bergen counties’ Lila Stern Premiere Brunch which occurred just the day before and featured Darshan-Leitner as keynote. The Sunday brunch, held at The Rockleigh Country Club in Rockleigh, New Jersey, drew nearly 400 in attendance and led the Women’s Division to reach their goal of $1 million in Israel bond investments and indications of intent to invest at this single assembly.


From left: Cynthia Blustein, Israel Bonds’ New York registered representative, Liran Yechiel,
Israel Bonds layleader, Shira Lewis, Israel Bonds board member and former Women’s Division chair,
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, guest speaker and Israeli attorney, Israel Maimon, Israel Bonds President &
CEO, Michelle Klahr, Israel Bonds’ Women’s Division Director, Annette Raij, Israel Bonds layleader.
Photo courtesy of Victoria Andretta.
   
Born in Petah Tikva, Israel, and a graduate of both Bar-Ilan University and Manchester University, Darshan-Leitner honed her skills as a young litigator, bringing high-level cases to the Israeli Supreme Court which focused on defending terror victims and barring terrorist entry to Israel. Influenced by the activities of the American civil rights organization, Southern Poverty Law Center, recognized for bankrupting branches of the Ku Klux Klan and other neo-Nazi groups, Darshan-Leitner established the Shurat HaDin Law Center in Tel Aviv in 2003 with a similar mission, to economically deplete and destroy initiatives of hate groups in the Middle East.  As the organization’s motto explains, “Bankrupting Terrorism - One Lawsuit at a Time”, Darshan-Leitner and her team continue to work tirelessly to safeguard Jewish rights worldwide and are committed to enforcing protection of the Jewish state and its citizens.  To date, the group has represented hundreds of terror victims in legal actions against terror organizations and their supporters, and has won over $2 billion in judgements, of which over $300 million has been transferred to the hands of terror victims and their families.


In 2016, Darshan-Leitner was chosen as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world
by the Jerusalem Post, and named by the Israeli Forbes magazine as one of the 50 most
influential Israeli women. Photo courtesy of Victoria Andretta.
 
According to a 2007 U.S. embassy cable released by WikiLeaks, Darshan-Leitner explained to an American embassy official that Shurat HaDin received evidence from and had taken direction "on which cases to pursue" from Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency. This secret unit of Mossad, called Harpoon, was the impetus for her 2017 best-selling book of the same name.
  
In more recent times, upon the advent of social media’s use in instilling hatred brought on by terrorist groups, Darshan-Leitner initiated a legal campaign to cease incitement of violence and promotion of terror attacks against Jews on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Shurat HaDin has since taken a firm stance in challenging social media platforms allowing such content to live on the worldwide web, by filing lawsuits aimed at deactivating anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and anti-Semitic pages and accounts so they can no longer channel messages of hate.

Through the work of Shurat HaDin, Darshan-Leitner and her associates have become adept in tracking the assets and bank accounts of terror groups and legally obstructing and restraining their funds. As they are renowned by banks, legal organizations and outlaw regimes as being the leading authority on stopping the movement of global terror funding, Shurat HaDin’s commitment to upholding the security of the Jewish state and people will continue to persevere, as Darshan-Leitner emphasizes, “This is our country, and we will fight back until we win.”

In communicating to the women how they can do their part to support the Jewish homeland, Darshan-Leitner emphasized the importance of investing in Israel bonds, which help strengthen Israel and its economy. She encouraged the women to remain resolute in the face of groups with anti-Jewish agendas, and serve as role models within their respective communities as leaders in defending Israel in their own right.