Rita Katz - Revision history

Melissa Jones: /* Terrorist Hunter */

2015-05-07T03:32:43Z

Terrorist Hunter

Melissa Jones: /* Al Rajhi v. Wall Street Journal */ grammar

2015-05-07T03:31:30Z

Al Rajhi v. Wall Street Journal: grammar

Melissa Jones: cat added

2015-03-09T01:21:02Z

cat added

David: /* Virginia Raids */

2011-01-02T12:08:54Z

Virginia Raids

Tom Mills: terrorism spin category added

2009-04-24T14:53:06Z

terrorism spin category added

Tom Mills: terrorexpertise cat removed

2008-06-12T07:21:31Z

terrorexpertise cat removed

Tom Mills: /* Virginia Raids */

2008-03-20T16:51:13Z

Virginia Raids

Tom Mills: /* The Investigative Project */

2008-03-20T16:47:45Z

The Investigative Project

Tom Mills: /* The Investigative Project */

2008-03-20T16:47:00Z

The Investigative Project

Tom Mills: /* The Investigative Project */

2008-03-20T16:44:20Z

The Investigative Project

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 It would appear that following her assistance in the case, the prosecution had intended to use Katz as an expert witness. It was originally intended that Katz would testify about Islamic websites, but the Judge barred her from doing so on the basis that the prosecution had not established any link between the websites and the defendant. Katz appeared at the trial again several weeks later and was allowed to read the jury portions of four fatwas on suicide attacks that had been posted on a Web site that Al-Hussayen helped maintain. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office in Idaho confirmed that Katz was a fact witness and added that “Fact witnesses may have expertise in certain areas, like Arabic language, how to get around on the Internet.” <ref>Betsy Z. Russell, [http://www.spokesmanreview.com/pf.asp?date=051604&ID=s1520351 ‘Consultant gives limited testimony; Katz's court role in Al-Hussayen case mundane’], Spokesman Review (Idaho Edition), 16 May 2004</ref> After al-Hussayen was acquitted, Assistant U.S. Attorney [[Terry Derden]], the prosecutor in the case, admitted that the charges were weak, but said that what mattered was that they'd disrupted Al-Hussayen from engaging in actions for which they were unable to secure a conviction. <ref>Maureen O'Hagan, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002097570_sami22m.html ‘A terrorism case that went awry’], ''Seattle Times'', 22 November 2004</ref>
-==Terrorist Hunter==
+==Terrorist hunter==
 In May 2003 Katz published an anonymous semi-autobiography entitled ''Terrorist Hunter: The Extraordinary Story of a Woman who Went Undercover to Infiltrate the Radical Islamic Groups Operating in America''. She appeared in disguise on the American television show 60 Minutes to promote her book using the pseudonym Sarah, and wearing a wig and a fake nose.<ref>Marc Perelman,[http://www.forward.com/articles/7490/ ‘Muslim Charities Sue CBS, Investigator’], ''Forward'', 13 June 2003</ref>

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 ===Al Rajhi v. Wall Street Journal===
-In ''Al Rajhi v. Wall Street Journal''<ref>[http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2003/1776.html Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation v The Wall Street Journal Europe SPRL] [2003] EWHC 1776 (QB) (21 July 2003)</ref> the Saudi bank Al-Rajhi bought a libel case against ''The Wall Street Journal'' for its front page article headed ‘Saudi Officials Monitor Certain Bank Accounts: Focus Is On Those With Potential Terrorist Ties’. In that article the paper had stated that accounts at the bank “belong to legitimate entities and businessmen who may in the past have had an association with institutions suspected of terrorism”. The case was bought in England because of the libel laws are unusually favourable to claimants in comparison with the United States and other European countries. ''The Wall Street Journal'' applied for permission to plead justification (i.e. that the libellous claims they made were true), and called Katz, as well as fellow terror expert [[Jean-Charles Brisard]], to testify that their accusations were true.
+In ''Al Rajhi v. Wall Street Journal''<ref>[http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2003/1776.html Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation v The Wall Street Journal Europe SPRL] [2003] EWHC 1776 (QB) (21 July 2003)</ref> the Saudi bank Al-Rajhi brought a libel case against ''The Wall Street Journal'' for its front page article headed ‘Saudi Officials Monitor Certain Bank Accounts: Focus Is On Those With Potential Terrorist Ties’. In that article the paper had stated that accounts at the bank “belong to legitimate entities and businessmen who may in the past have had an association with institutions suspected of terrorism”. The case was brought in England because of the libel laws are unusually favourable to claimants in comparison with the United States and other European countries. ''The Wall Street Journal'' applied for permission to plead justification (i.e. that the libellous claims they made were true), and called Katz, as well as fellow terror expert [[Jean-Charles Brisard]], to testify that their accusations were true.
 ===Al-Hussayen===

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:21, 9 March 2015
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	[[Category:Terrorologist\|Katz, Rita]]		[[Category:Terrorologist\|Katz, Rita]]
	[[Category:Terrorism Spin\|Katz, Rita]]		[[Category:Terrorism Spin\|Katz, Rita]]
		+	[[Category:Islam Critics\|Katz, Rita]]

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 ===Virginia Raids===
-Katz worked with the FBI on an investigation which led to a series of raids in March 2002 in Northern Virginia. The search warrants targeted the Graduate School of Islamic Thought and Social Sciences (GSITSS) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), an Islamic research institute and think tank, as well as the private homes of a number of their employees and scholars. One of the raids led to a civil liberty complaint against Rita Katz and David Kane (the FBI agent who signed the search warrant affidavit)<ref>Aysha Nudrat Unus and Hanaa Unus v. David Kane and Rita Katz, Civ. No. 04-312-A (E.D. Va. filed Nov. 9, 2004)</ref>. The complainants were Aysha Nudrat Unus and Hanaa Unus the wife and daughter respectively of an employee of IIIT whose home was raided. They alleged amongst other things that the affidavit in support of the search warrants contained fabricated material facts regarding non-existent overseas transactions.<ref>[http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/edgar041905.pdf Testimony of the American Civil Liberties Union at an Oversight Hearing on the Implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act (PDF)] 19 April 2005<\ref> The lawsuit was dismissed on the ground that probable cause existed to support the underlying search warrants, and the court awarded attorneys fees to Rita Katz.<ref>[http://www.aclu.org/natsec/gen/14468leg20050615.html ACLU Letter to Representative Coble Supplementing Timothy H. Edgar's April 19, 2005 Testimony on the USA PATRIOT Act], 15 June 2005)</ref>
+Katz worked with the FBI on an investigation which led to a series of raids in March 2002 in Northern Virginia. The search warrants targeted the Graduate School of Islamic Thought and Social Sciences (GSITSS) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), an Islamic research institute and think tank, as well as the private homes of a number of their employees and scholars. One of the raids led to a civil liberty complaint against Rita Katz and David Kane (the FBI agent who signed the search warrant affidavit)<ref>Aysha Nudrat Unus and Hanaa Unus v. David Kane and Rita Katz, Civ. No. 04-312-A (E.D. Va. filed Nov. 9, 2004)</ref>. The complainants were Aysha Nudrat Unus and Hanaa Unus the wife and daughter respectively of an employee of IIIT whose home was raided. They alleged amongst other things that the affidavit in support of the search warrants contained fabricated material facts regarding non-existent overseas transactions.<ref>[http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/edgar041905.pdf Testimony of the American Civil Liberties Union at an Oversight Hearing on the Implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act (PDF)] 19 April 2005</ref> The lawsuit was dismissed on the ground that probable cause existed to support the underlying search warrants, and the court awarded attorneys fees to Rita Katz.<ref>[http://www.aclu.org/natsec/gen/14468leg20050615.html ACLU Letter to Representative Coble Supplementing Timothy H. Edgar's April 19, 2005 Testimony on the USA PATRIOT Act], 15 June 2005)</ref>
 After the publishing of Katz’s book the Jewish newspaper ''Forward'' quoted two anonymous sources “privy to the investigations” as saying that “Katz had exaggerated her role in the Virginia investigation, drawn some reckless conclusions and lost the trust of some investigators from the FBI and Justice Department”.<ref>Marc Perelman,[ http://www.forward.com/articles/7490/ ‘Muslim Charities Sue CBS, Investigator’], ''Forward'', 13 June 2003</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:53, 24 April 2009
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	[[Category:Terrorologist\|Katz, Rita]]		[[Category:Terrorologist\|Katz, Rita]]
		+	[[Category:Terrorism Spin\|Katz, Rita]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:21, 12 June 2008
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	<references/>		<references/>

−	[[Category:Terrorologist\|Katz, Rita]]	+	[[Category:Terrorologist\|Katz, Rita]]
−	~~[[category:Terrorexpertise~~]]

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 In 2000 Katz recorded Muslim lobbyist Abdurahman al-Amoudi at a public rally stating his support for Hamas and Hezbollah. She released the recording to the media, ending Abdurahman al-Amoudi’s access to the Clinton White House.<ref>Kathryn Jean Lopez, [http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory062603.asp| ‘The Terrorist Hunter Speaks’], National Review Online, 26 June 2003</ref>
-Katzs also began writing articles on terrorism. Her first publication appeared in late 1999 in ''The Journal of Counterterrorism & Security International''. It was called ‘Trends in Anti-American Terrorism’ and was co-authored with [[Evan Kohlmann]], then a politics undergraduate at Georgetown University and interning at the Investigative Project. The article sought to address what it called three misconceptions about the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah. These were (1) That Hezballah is merely a Lebanese “resistance group, solely interested in ending the Israeli occupation of Lebanese soil” (2) That “enmity of Hezballah is restricted to the state of Israel” and (3) “That Hizballah's tactics and activities are within the scope of what a legitimate resistance group, rather than a terrorist organization, would undertake”. The article argued that Hezbollah was in fact pursuing an aggressive war against the existence of Israel and the Western world more generally, and that in pursuit of that goal they had established a “Terror University” from Iranian funds to “to increase terrorism against the West, Israel, and secular Arab governments.”<ref>''The Journal of Counterterrorism & Security International'', Winter 1999 Vol. 6, No. 2</ref>
+Whilst at the Investigative Project Katzs also began writing articles on terrorism. Her first publication appeared in late 1999 in ''The Journal of Counterterrorism & Security International''. It was called ‘Trends in Anti-American Terrorism’ and was co-authored with [[Evan Kohlmann]], then a politics undergraduate at Georgetown University and interning at the Investigative Project. The article sought to address what it called three misconceptions about the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah. These were (1) That Hezballah is merely a Lebanese “resistance group, solely interested in ending the Israeli occupation of Lebanese soil” (2) That “enmity of Hezballah is restricted to the state of Israel” and (3) “That Hizballah's tactics and activities are within the scope of what a legitimate resistance group, rather than a terrorist organization, would undertake”. The article argued that Hezbollah was in fact pursuing an aggressive war against the existence of Israel and the Western world more generally, and that in pursuit of that goal they had established a “Terror University” from Iranian funds to “to increase terrorism against the West, Israel, and secular Arab governments.”<ref>''The Journal of Counterterrorism & Security International'', Winter 1999 Vol. 6, No. 2</ref>
 ===Site Institute===

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 Katz says she starting working in terrorism research by chance. She was bored in Washington and looking for a job and she responded to a newspaper advert placed by the [[Investigative Project]] which was looking for an Arabic speaking research assistant.<ref>Kathryn Jean Lopez, [http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory062603.asp| ‘The Terrorist Hunter Speaks’], National Review Online, 26 June 2003</ref> At the Investigative Project Katz was initially told by its Director [[Steve Emerson]] that her job would involve a lot of “administrative stuff and copying”.<ref>Aaron Leibel [http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=10948 Author Infiltrates Islamic Terror Cells]' ''Washington Jewish Week'' 29 August 2003</ref> However, she would became involved in undercover investigations of Arab-American organisations and would later be referred to as the Research Director at the organisation. She would attend events “where non-Muslims would stand out” where she “pretended to be the wife of a radical Iraqi-American businessman”.<ref>Benjamin Wallace-Wells, [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/05/29/060529fa_fact 'PRIVATE JIHAD: How Rita Katz got into the spying business'], ''The New Yorker'', 29 May 2006</ref> She has said in an interview that she sometimes felt sympathy when “various people told sob stories about how they were abused because they were Muslims or Arabs”.<ref>Kathryn Jean Lopez, [http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory062603.asp| ‘The Terrorist Hunter Speaks’], National Review Online, 26 June 2003</ref>
-The purpose of these undercover operations was to expose radical jihadists posing as Muslim community organisations or rights groups. That is the main focus of Steve Emerson’s research and it is a view which Katz evidently shares. She told MSNBC in 2003 that “Islamic fundamentalism in the United States has been in this country for many, many, many years. They have been able to infiltrate this country from Hezbollah to al Qaeda, Palestinian Islamic Jihad in every corner of our cities of our great cities.” <ref>The Savage Nation, MSNBC, 14 June 2003</ref>
+The purpose of these undercover operations was to expose radical jihadists posing as Muslim community organisations or rights groups. That such organisations are essentially fronts for terrorists is a major focus of Steve Emerson’s research. It is a view which Katz evidently shares. She told MSNBC in 2003 that “Islamic fundamentalism in the United States has been in this country for many, many, many years. They have been able to infiltrate this country from Hezbollah to al Qaeda, Palestinian Islamic Jihad in every corner of our cities of our great cities.” <ref>The Savage Nation, MSNBC, 14 June 2003</ref>
-Katz’s earliest exposé was of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF). She said the investigation began “on [her] own initiative and quite accidentally”<ref>Kathryn Jean Lopez, [http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory062603.asp| ‘The Terrorist Hunter Speaks’], National Review Online, 26 June 2003</ref>. She says she noticed differences between the Arabic and English translations of the group’s literature, and noted that the latter had omitted mentions of groups affiliated with Hamas.<ref>Aaron Leibel [http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=10948 Author Infiltrates Islamic Terror Cells]' ''Washington Jewish Week'' 29 August 2003</ref> She says she “went to a fundraiser of theirs dressed as a Muslim woman. Soon thereafter I was attending conferences, visiting mosques, participating in rallies — and the more I did, the more I discovered the enormity of the problem of radicalism on U.S. soil.”<ref>Kathryn Jean Lopez, [http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory062603.asp| ‘The Terrorist Hunter Speaks’], National Review Online, 26 June 2003</ref> In late 2001 President Bush announced he was freezing the charity’s assets saying that Hamas had “obtained much of the money it pays for murder abroad right here in the United States.” The government subsequently prosecuted the leaders of the Foundation but did not allege that it paid directly for terrorist attacks - rather that, to quote the ''New York Times'', “it supported terrorism by sending more than $12 million to charitable groups, known as zakat committees, which build hospitals and feed the poor.<ref>Leslie Eaton, ‘No Convictions in Trial Against Muslim Charity’, ''New York Times'', October 22, 2007</ref> The US government failed to bring a conviction when the case came to trial in 2007<ref>Leslie Eaton, ‘No Convictions in Trial Against Muslim Charity’, ''New York Times'', October 22, 2007</ref>
+Katz’s earliest exposé was of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF). She said the investigation began “on [her] own initiative and quite accidentally”<ref>Kathryn Jean Lopez, [http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory062603.asp| ‘The Terrorist Hunter Speaks’], National Review Online, 26 June 2003</ref>. She says she noticed differences between the Arabic and English translations of the group’s literature, and noted that the latter had omitted mentions of groups affiliated with Hamas.<ref>Aaron Leibel [http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=10948 Author Infiltrates Islamic Terror Cells]' ''Washington Jewish Week'' 29 August 2003</ref> She says she “went to a fundraiser of theirs dressed as a Muslim woman. Soon thereafter I was attending conferences, visiting mosques, participating in rallies — and the more I did, the more I discovered the enormity of the problem of radicalism on U.S. soil.”<ref>Kathryn Jean Lopez, [http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory062603.asp| ‘The Terrorist Hunter Speaks’], National Review Online, 26 June 2003</ref> In late 2001 President Bush announced he was freezing the charity’s assets saying that Hamas had “obtained much of the money it pays for murder abroad right here in the United States.” The government subsequently prosecuted the leaders of the Foundation but did not allege that it paid directly for terrorist attacks - rather that, to quote the ''New York Times'', “it supported terrorism by sending more than $12 million to charitable groups, known as zakat committees, which build hospitals and feed the poor.<ref>Leslie Eaton, ‘No Convictions in Trial Against Muslim Charity’, ''New York Times'', October 22, 2007</ref> The US government failed to bring a conviction when the case came to trial in 2007.<ref>Leslie Eaton, ‘No Convictions in Trial Against Muslim Charity’, ''New York Times'', October 22, 2007</ref>
 In 2000 Katz recorded Muslim lobbyist Abdurahman al-Amoudi at a public rally stating his support for Hamas and Hezbollah. She released the recording to the media, ending Abdurahman al-Amoudi’s access to the Clinton White House.<ref>Kathryn Jean Lopez, [http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory062603.asp| ‘The Terrorist Hunter Speaks’], National Review Online, 26 June 2003</ref>