For immediate release October 2, 2026
Contact: Email: alawdany@gmail.com for interviews
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Twitter handle: @pal_awda
VICTORY: Pal-Awda NY/NJ celebrates dismissal of Trump admin’s FACE Act case against pro-Palestine protesters
Newark, NJ– Pal-Awda NY/NJ celebrates the complete dismissal of a Department of Justice (DOJ) case filed by the Trump administration weaponizing the FACE Act against pro-Palestine protesters–including Pal-Awda member Terri Kay –who were protesting the illegal sale of stolen Palestinian land in New Jersey.
On Wednesday, a federal judge dismissed charges against all defendants and affirmed the right to protest, even if that protest happens to occur at or near a place of worship.
In September, 2025 the Trump-appointed Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, filed a lawsuit against protesters on the grounds of the Freedom Of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act), historically meant to prevent those obstructing abortion access at clinics. The lawsuit falsely accused protesters of blocking a house of worship and assaulting congregants on the basis of their religion. It accused Kay of intimidating and instigating violence against Moshe Glick when Kay served a cease and desist letter at his home, the original inteded location of the stolen Palestinian land sale.
The November 2024 demonstration took place when Pal-Awda and coalition partners protested outside an illegal real estate event held inside a synagogue in New Jersey, where organizers were selling Palestinian land in the illegal settlement of Givat Hamatos, located in the occupied West Bank.
Wednesday’s decision affirmed that the the demonstration itself did not constitute a violation of the FACE Act–and referring to the cease and desist letter at issue regarding Kay– that a “demand backed by threatened legal action is not, without more, a threat of force.” under the Face Act.
According to Terri Kay, “this is a resounding victory for the movement at large as it affirms our basic right to actively oppose and disrupt the real violations that are taking place – the violation of state, federal and international law by way of these illegal Palestinian land sales.”
A representative from Pal-Awda further remarked that “Wednesday’s decision not only affirms the right to principled protest and protected speech, but further reveals the crumbling power of the Zionist lobby. It is becoming more and more untenable to silence our movements in the face of growing consensus on the illegality and unconscionable nature of the sale of stolen Palestinian land.”
Pal-Awda reaffirms its commitment to stopping the sales of stolen Palestinian land, wherever they take place.