Picture: Jamal Awad/Flash90

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Israeli NGO Regavim filed a landmark appeal with the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg late last week, seeking the complete annulment of sanctions imposed on the organization by the Council of the European Union.

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In early June, the EU announced sanctions against several Israeli organizations, including Regavim and its director, alleging that the group was responsible for legal action against an EU-funded structure built illegally near Herodium in the Judean Desert that was later demolished.

The appeal marks the first legal challenge filed by an Israeli organization or citizen against European Union sanctions.

According to Regavim, the appeal argues that the EU’s evidentiary file is fundamentally flawed, relying on what it describes as unprofessional analysis and reports published by media outlets and organizations identified with the far left.

The appeal, submitted by an international team of senior attorneys led by Paris-based lawyer Salomé Lamason and Jerusalem attorney Nick Kaufman, identifies what it calls numerous factual distortions.

Among them, the filing challenges the EU’s attribution of the demolition of a school in the Palestinian village of Jib a-Dhib to Regavim. The organization argues that the demolition was carried out by Israeli authorities pursuant to an order issued by the Jerusalem District Court because the building posed an immediate risk of collapse.

Beyond disputing the evidence, Regavim argues that the sanctions themselves represent an anti-democratic and heavy-handed practice, imposed without any hearing or due process.

“The sanctions create an atmosphere of intimidation for every citizen,” the appeal states, arguing that no individual can know whether, when, or on what grounds similar sanctions might be imposed on them.

The organization further contends that the measures significantly infringe upon the rights of European Union citizens to donate to or otherwise support Regavim’s lawful activities. It also argues that the sanctions effectively prohibit business relationships with European-registered companies, including banks, credit card companies, payment processors, and other international financial service providers.

Regavim also argues that the sanctions constitute a serious violation of freedom of expression and the rule of law because they punish a lawful civil society organization solely for exercising its right to petition Israeli courts and participate in democratic legal proceedings.

“The European Union has constructed an embarrassing legal smokescreen to persecute a legitimate civil society organization simply because it publicly criticizes the EU’s unlawful activities,” said Regavim Director-General Meir Deutsch.

According to Deutsch, the appeal seeks not only to reverse the substantial financial damage caused by the sanctions but also to challenge what he described as an attempt by European institutions to intimidate Israeli civil society.

He further accused the European Union of pursuing broader efforts to advance the establishment of a Palestinian state that, in his view, would endanger Israel’s future.

“Anyone who believes in democracy and free elections should be deeply concerned by Europe’s decision to impose crippling sanctions on civil society organizations simply because they dare to hold views that differ from those of the governing establishment,” Deutsch said.