The Associated Press – A federal appeals court upheld a $156 million judgment Wednesday against three U.S.-based Islamic groups accused of bankrolling terrorism in a landmark civil case.

The U.S. charities must be held liable if they gave money to groups that engage in terrorist acts, even if they designated the funds were for humanitarian purposes, the decision by the 10 judges on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said.

The suit was filed in 2000 by the parents of American-born David Boim, who was a 17-year-old yeshiva student when he was killed by Hamas terrorists in a 1996 drive-by shooting at a bus stop on Israel’s West Bank. The Boims’ lawsuit claimed the groups that gave to Palestinian charities ultimately helped fund terrorism.

“This is the most significant judicial opinion on liability for terrorist financing ever decided by a United States court,” said Chicago attorney Stephen Landes, who represented Boim’s parents.

The decision upheld a lower-court judgment against the American Muslim Society, the Islamic Association for Palestine-National and the Quranic Literacy Institute.

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