Victory Shields Human Rights Advocates from Abusive Discovery Demands by Sanctioned Israeli Settler
NEW YORK, NY (September 19, 2025) — In a strong decision protecting the First Amendment rights of American human rights organizations and journalists, a federal magistrate judge yesterday rejected an attempt by a previously sanctioned Israeli settler to compel discovery from DAWN about their work documenting his role in human rights abuses in the West Bank.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lara K. Eshkenazi of the Eastern District of New York denied Isaac Levi Pilant's application under 28 U.S.C. § 1782, which had sought to force DAWN and its Executive Director Sarah Leah Whitson to disclose extensive materials related to their documentation and advocacy for U.S. sanctions against him. The court sided with DAWN on all issues, dismissing the sweeping discovery demands that threatened to expose confidential sources and chill protected speech.
"The federal judge's ruling sends a clear message that U.S. courts will not be tools of retaliation for silencing human rights work, and we are grateful that we helped secure it," said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's executive director. "The decision protects not just American organizations documenting abuses in Palestine, but all journalists and advocates exposing wrongdoing anywhere in the world who would be the next targets in line for attack by vicious, violent human rights abusers."
The court noted that Pilant's broad discovery requests—which demanded all documents and communications mentioning him since 2022, including DAWN's communications with U.S. government agencies—appeared to be an "impermissible fishing expedition" with no demonstrated relevance to his proposed, hypothetical Israeli lawsuit against a different organization, Yesh Din, which is based in Israel.
Critically, Judge Eshkenazi found that DAWN's investigative work qualified for protection under the First Amendment reporter's privilege, noting that the privilege "protects information gathered pursuant to different advocacy strategies." In rejecting Pilant's attempt to challenge DAWN's journalistic credentials, the court specifically noted: "Indeed, the record demonstrates that DAWN is guided by rigorous journalistic principles, including independence, fact-finding, and corroboration."
"The court saw this litigation for what it was—a fishing expedition designed to chill human rights advocacy," said Jake Karr, staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. "Pilant was looking for an end-run around the First Amendment, but the court rejected this transparent attempt to punish DAWN for its courageous work investigating abuses and advocating for accountability. This ruling should make it harder for human rights violators to try to silence their critics through abusive discovery."
[Read the court's opinion here]
DAWN was represented by Jake Karr of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, and Timothy W. Grinsell and Margaret B. Hoppin from Hoppin Grinsell LLP.
Background
On February 25, 2025, Pilant filed a discovery application seeking to force DAWN and Whitson to disclose sensitive materials related to their investigation and advocacy about his involvement in West Bank violence against Palestinians. DAWN had advocated for Pilant's sanctioning after documenting evidence of his role in orchestrating attacks on Palestinian civilians, including violent assaults on Palestinian farmers, destruction of Palestinian property, and coordination of settler militia activities targeting Palestinian communities.
The organization submitted a 23-page report to the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury and published a report summarizing its findings on August 26, 2024. The Biden administration sanctioned Pilant on August 28, 2024, for being "responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank," though President Trump removed him from the sanctions list in January 2025.
The American Civil Liberties Union, New York Civil Liberties Union, and Human Rights First filed an amicus brief supporting DAWN, warning that granting Pilant's demands would "chill essential human rights advocacy" and endanger confidential sources worldwide.
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About DAWN:
DAWN is a nonprofit organization that seeks to reform U.S. policy in the Middle East and hold human rights abusers accountable in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
About the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
The Knight First Amendment Institute defends the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, policy advocacy, and public education. It promotes a system of free expression that is open and inclusive, that broadens and elevates public discourse, and that fosters creativity, accountability, and effective self-government. https://knightcolumbia.org/
