Convicted HLF Chief Rewrites Hamas Charity’s History
21st December 2015
A former top official of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) is trying to whitewash the Hamas charity’s true history in a detailed self-interview published by the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA), a virulently pro-terrorist and anti-Israel publication.
Shukri Abu Baker was HLF’s chief executive, but now is serving 65 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to the terrorist group Hamas. Jurors in Dallas determined that under Baker’s control, HLF illegally routed more than $12 million to Hamas.
But, Baker claims, the case “was an insult to the American judicial system and ravaged the lives of those who were only trying to alleviate suffering.”
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, upholding the convictions of Baker and four co-defendants in 2011. The court cited evidence which “contradicted a sworn declaration from Baker wherein he had denied that he and other HLF board members had any connection with Hamas.”