Al-Majdal is the quarterly magazine of BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights. This issue  draws on the research and experience of the participants in the Israel Review Conference held in Geneva on 17 and 18 April 2009, to provide an overview of routes, challenges, and recommendations for taking Israel and its abettors to international and domestic courts.

‍

The article by Susan M. Akram and Yasmine Gado “Legal Strategies towards Accountability under International Law: Civil Tort Claims and Related Mechanisms in US Courts” provides an interesting overview of the attempts made by US lawyers to hold Israeli perpetrators accountable through the use of civil tort laws, or indirectly through manufacturers’ liability lawsuits. The article shows how the US government has consistently interfered to ensure that courts dismiss Palestinian cases on procedural and jurisdictional grounds, a history that has led them to the conclusion that victims of Israeli actions should avoid US courts, and “leave such claims to countries with stronger  universal jurisdiction laws and more independent judicial systems than the US.”