Plaintiffs Charge Illegal Support for ‘Gross Violations of Human Rights’ in Lebanon
By Patti Mohr, writer and editor-at-large
September 6, 2026—Lebanese Americans in Michigan are suing Secretary of State Marco Rubio along with weapons-makers Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Caterpillar, asserting corporate negligence and violations by the government of the U.S. Leahy Laws, which bars military sales to a country committing human rights violations.
The lawsuit accuses the State Department of defying U.S. laws by creating “special mechanisms” in its review of the Israeli military, in effect creating “a far more lenient, bureaucratic, and convoluted review process” to avoid enforcing the Leahy Laws. The impact is policies and procedures that provide an “Israeli exceptionalism” for human rights violations. It further charges the companies selling products (i.e. weapons, technology and bulldozers) to Israel are breaking the Leahy Laws.
Leahy Laws Explained
The “Leahy Laws” are two sets of laws named after former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., that prevent the U.S. government from assisting a foreign military if there is “credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.”
One law, part of the Foreign Assistance Act, prohibits the State Department from providing assistance. The other law bars the Defense Department (“Department of War”) from doing the same thing. That one is part of the Arms Export Control Act, and its legal citation is included in U.S. Code: Title 10— ARMED FORCES (10 U.S. Code § 362).
ACRL Files in Detroit, Asks for Jury Trial
The Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) filed the suit in August on behalf of several of its members and U.S. citizens in Michigan who have family and property in Lebanon. They are seeking a court order to stop sales of … technology, software, and maintenance support to the Israeli government and/or companies. They are also asking for a statement of admission that
Defendants “knew or should have known” that Israel was committing human rights violations. Finally, they ask them to make Plaintiffs “financially whole” for the harms suffered—property losses and loss of value in Lebanon, destroyed businesses, expropriation of land, legal expenses, and mental and emotional pain.
Separate Palestinian American Case in D.C.
The case is similar to one filed in the District of Columbia in 2024. That one, GAZA et al v. RUBIO, alleges grave violations of human rights by Israel and violations of the Leahy Laws by then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken (now terminated as a Defendant) and Secretary Rubio.
Democracy for the Arab World (DAWN), an organization founded by journalist Jamal Khashoggi, filed that lawsuit on behalf of Palestinians and Americans with relatives in Gaza and the West Bank. Its legal citation is Case 1:24-cv-03503. That case is ongoing with the latest court entry taking place July 20, 2026.
In a related story, the Senate voted on a resolution calling on the State Department to investigate the killing of nine Americans and conduct a report on Israeli human rights violations.
