Court
says Jewish group must disclose files
SAN
FRANCISCO, November 16
(AP)
- Pro-Palestinian
and anti-apartheid activists are entitled
to learn whether a Jewish civil rights
organization illegally disclosed
confidential information about them, a
state appeals court ruled
Monday. The ruling by the 1st
District Court of Appeal should enable the
activists to go to trial in their
long-stalled suit against the
Anti-Defamation
League of B'nai
B'rith, said
the activists' lawyer, Pete
McCloskey. "It breaks through this
almost incredible claim by these guys that
they were immune for any violation of
law," said McCloskey, a former congressman
whose wife is one of the 17
plaintiffs. | 
Lawyers for the ADL
were not immediately available for
comment. They appealed a previous
unfavorable ruling by the same court to
the state Supreme Court. Some of the information
sought by the activists is contained in
more than 17,000 ADL files
seized
by San Francisco
police in
1992. The activists, who
include the son of a former Israeli
defense minister and other Jewish
dissidents, were notified by police that
their names were in the files. They
contend the ADL illegally obtained
confidential records, such as driver
licenses and Social Security numbers, from
the state and
used
them to get people
blacklisted among
the organization's supporters. The ADL denies having a
blacklist and says it was merely keeping
tabs on hate groups and terrorists.
 Copyright
1998 The Associated Press. |
Posted
Wednesday,
November 18, 1998
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