Israel Matzav

Family of Nachshon Wachsman HY"D awarded $25 million

Nachshon Wachsman HY"D (may God avenge his blood) was kidnapped by 'Palestinian' terrorists from Hamas in October 1994 on his way home from a one-day IDF training course. He was murdered a few days later during an IDF attempt to rescue him. One of the reasons that the IDF has not launched an attack on the hideout where Gilad Shalit is being held is undoubtedly what happened to Nachshon Wachsman and to Nir Poraz, HY"D, the IDF officer who led that IDF attempt to rescue Wachsman, who was killed in the attempt.

On Friday, a federal court in Washington granted a $25 million judgment against the government of Iran for its role in training the Hamas terrorists who kidnapped and murdered Nachshon Wachsman.

Wachsman was a 19-year-old U.S. citizen and Israeli army corporal when he was taken by four members of Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States. His abduction damaged Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations at the time, as he pleaded on videotape for his life.

Wachsman's mother and six brothers filed the lawsuit in 2006 against Iran and its ministry of information and security, saying Tehran was responsible for the death because it provided training and support to Hamas. Iran has refused to respond to the lawsuit, resulting in a default judgment in favor of Wachsman's family.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina awarded $5 million to Wachsman's mother and $2.5 million to each brother for their emotional distress, and $5 million to Wachsman's estate for his potential lost earnings and the pain and suffering he endured for six days while he was held hostage before being executed. The court also ruled that Iran should pay 6 percent annual interest from the date of Wachsman's murder nearly 15 years ago.

It's unclear if the family will get any of the money, said Michael Jacobson, a former senior adviser in the Treasury Department's office of terrorism and financial intelligence.

"It's been historically pretty difficult to collect against those types of cases," said Jacobson, now a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. But he noted that the courts could seize any assets of Iranian entities in the United States to help pay a judgment.

Wachsman was abducted by four members of Hamas on October 9, 1994, as he waited on the side of a public street near the central Israeli city of Lod for a ride to visit a friend. The kidnappers wore black hats and yarmulkes as disguises that allowed them to lure Wachsman into their rented van, which had Israeli license plates.

The abductors blindfolded and bound Wachsman, then took him to a safe house in Bir Nabala, an Arab village just north of Jerusalem, where they videotaped him with his identification card and Israeli army-issued M-16 rifle. They demanded the release of the jailed Hamas leader and 200 other Muslim fundamentalist prisoners by Oct. 14, 1994, in exchange for Wachsman's life.

On video, Wachsman urged Israel to meet the kidnappers' demands. "If not, they will kill me," he said. "I ask you to do all you can so I get out of here alive." [You will see part of that video in the video below. CiJ].

...

The Wachsman family details in court filings how they have struggled with his violent and public death, with his mother diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and on medication and one brother having attempted suicide three times in his grief.

This video was made in tribute to Nachshon Wachsman and to Nir Poraz.

Let's go to the videotape.



I suspect that one of my older childrens' early memories was being taken to the Kotel (Western Wall) for that massive prayer by their father....

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:49 AM