Regavim announced on Friday that it had secured what it described as a significant legal victory against the Biden administration’s sanctions policy toward Israeli citizens and organizations.
The Israeli NGO said a lawsuit it filed in U.S. federal court in 2024 over sanctions imposed on Israelis, including the grassroots group Tzav 9, concluded this week with an agreement under which the U.S. government committed to respect Israeli sovereignty and limit the use of sanctions against a specified group of organizations and individuals.
According to Regavim, the agreement covers a list of organizations and individuals that includes the movement and its director-general, Meir Deutsch. The arrangement also reportedly commits the U.S. government not to sanction without due process Israeli citizens who also hold American citizenship, and not to impose sanctions solely because individuals or organizations reside in Judea and Samaria.
“The days when Israeli democracy could be trampled through the use of sanctions are over,” Deutsch said in a statement.
“While the struggle we led protects Regavim, far more importantly, it protects democracy in Israel,” he added. “The administration’s commitment is critical to halting the sanctions spiral into which we were dragged, a spiral that could harm every citizen and threaten the future of the State of Israel.”
The dispute began in 2024, when the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Tzav 9 and other Israeli individuals and organizations accused of involvement in violence. Regavim argued that the sanctions represented an unprecedented intervention by a foreign government in the affairs of a democratic ally.
“This constitutes an infringement on freedom of speech in a functioning democratic state in a manner unprecedented in history, especially between allied nations,” Deutsch said.
Regavim subsequently assembled a team of international legal experts and challenged the sanctions policy in federal court.
The organization noted that U.S. President Donald Trump rescinded the sanctions shortly after returning to office. However, Regavim continued to pursue its legal challenge, arguing that future administrations could reinstate similar measures.
“This struggle was never only about Regavim,” Deutsch said. “Those who sought to turn sanctions into a political tool against Israeli citizens and organizations discovered that there are those willing to fight back.”
Texans for Israel, Regavim, et al. v. Biden, et al. was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division, on Aug. 6, 2024, challenging President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14115, which authorized sanctions against persons deemed to threaten peace, security or stability in the “West Bank.” The plaintiffs included Regavim, Texans for Israel, leaders of those organizations and two dual U.S.-Israeli citizens living in Judea and Samaria.
The movement said the agreement could serve as a precedent in efforts to challenge sanctions imposed by other countries. Regavim is currently facing sanctions from the European Union and Canada.
Deutsch announced that Regavim would file an appeal and a counterclaim, “demanding that our name be cleared and that we be compensated for the injustice caused to us.”
