An Arab American advocacy group filed a proposed federal class-action lawsuit on Tuesday against Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, alleging that the defendants facilitated Israeli military operations in Lebanon that damaged property owned by U.S. citizens.
The 79-page complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by the Dearborn, Mich.-based Arab American Civil Rights League and several plaintiffs who say they own homes, apartments and other property in Lebanon.
The suit alleges that the companies supplied weapons, aircraft, software, parts and heavy equipment to Israel despite knowing, or having reason to know, that those products could be used “in a manner involving unreasonable risk of harm to the persons and property of the plaintiffs.” The complaint also cites the Leahy laws, which restrict U.S. security assistance to foreign military units accused of human-rights violations.
In one example, U.S. citizen Kareem Hassan Jammal claimed that he owned “multiple houses and apartments in Lebanon” that were destroyed during Israeli airstrikes in 2024 and 2026.
While the complaint includes 18 individual plaintiffs who assert ownership interests in property in Lebanon, it contains only a map labeled “Map of 2026 Israeli Aggression in Lebanon” and does not appear to include deeds, title records or other documentation establishing ownership. (JNS sought comment from the ACRL.)
The plaintiffs are represented by attorney Nabih Ayad, the ACRL’s founder and chairman, who served on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission from 2008 to 2011.
The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, including a “temporary injunction halting the transfer of further instrumentalities” to Israel.
