World Funding Terrorists Author explains legal and illegal fundraising methods. Stephanie Steinberg Special to the Jewish News Ann Arbor H r• 1 1 .nrItiC fctact rwi,c ' Security Deposit Reduced at Silverbrooke Villa `,) tit:di - 0► 111 AA ifil • Eagle Pond Townhouses WWWeddnandeaCOM 26 November 26 • 2009 A Walled Lake community designed for families 2 bedrooms starting @ $825 3 bedrooms starting t1 $930 Patios/Balconies Private Entrances Sports Courts Playground 248-255-3529 Pet Friendly ow do terrorist organiza- tions get their funding? Avi Jorisch, former policy advisor at the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, answered that question in a talk with more than 50 University of Michigan students and Jewish adults on campus Nov. 11. Jorisch is the author of Tainted Money: Are we losing the war on money laundering and ter- Avi Jorisch rorism financing? He has traveled throughout the Middle East and has interviewed individuals from terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah. Participants sat around Jorisch in a close-knit circle as he explained the ideology behind radical Islam and mechanisms of terrorism financing. He said radical Shi'ite terrorist organizations like Hezbollah hate the United States mainly because they believe U.S. citizens have no right to occupy American soil. "We are considered European colo- nists that came to America, took land that did not belong to us, and basically raped the Earth and took it away from the legitimate owners — the Native Americans:' Jorisch said. That the U.S. supports other "colo- nial powers" like Israel deepens their dislike of Americans. On the other hand, radical Sunni terrorist organizations, such as Al Qaeda and Hamas, want to create a "one world of Islam" led by a single religious figurehead who directs the nation in times of war. To operate, all terrorist organiza- tions need money. According to Jorisch, there are only three ways to raise money in the world — through criminal activity, legal activity and government sponsorship — and ter- rorists use all three. Most terrorists participate in money laundering," he said, which (( mean giving proceeds from illegal criminal activity the appearance of being raised legally. Terrorists especially like moving money through gold because it can't be traced, there's no inflation and it has universal value. "Almost anyone will accept it:' he said. "You can sell gold in Michigan for essentially the same price in Tel Aviv, San Francisco and New York." Terrorists also transfer money through diamonds for the same rea- sons — and also because they are small and portable. But terrorists also move cash legally through banks. The fours state spon- sors of terrorism — Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba — fund terrorist organiza- tions in this fashion. According to Jorisch, Hezbollah receives money from Iran through bank transfers. That's why Israel first targeted Hezbollah bank branches in the 2006 Lebanon War, Jorisch said. His goal was to encourage audi- ence members to learn about different ideological perspectives and the prin- ciples behind terrorist organizations. "I encourage you all to open your minds and see things in different ways," Jorisch said. "Otherwise, I happen to think we are going to be engaged in a war with radical Islam for a very, very long time. Just like we had to fight fascism and communism, we're now engaged in the next big war — ideologically speaking:' Avery Robinson of Franklin is a U-M sophomore and vice president of IDEA — Initiating Dialogue, Education and Advocacy — the student organization that sponsored the event. "I thought that [Jorisch] had a lot of interesting things to say:' Robinson said, "specifically regarding interna- tional financing that people were not aware of." IDEA President Ben Kaminsky, a U-M junior from Hong Kong, said, "I think through his extensive time trav- eling and interviewing Hezbollah and different terrorist organizations, he really can provide an in depth knowl- edge and firsthand understanding of how [the financing] happens." II Stephanie Steinberg, 19, of Commerce Township is a sophomore at U-M.