Federal Judge dismisses CAIR-backed lawsuit targeting Jewish community

The Lawfare Project, together with its co‑counsel at Turkel Cuva Barrios Guerra, P.A., announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Zohra Khorashi, a former attorney at Chartwell Law terminated for her antisemitic social media posts against a Pennsylvania Jewish couple who were targeted for sharing truthful, publicly available information.

The case—Khorashi v. Beer, No. 25‑cv‑23202‑JB (S.D. Fla.)—was filed by attorneys from the Council on American‑Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and which was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State of Texas last month. The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants “doxed” Khorashi by posting a link to her already‑public Chartwell Law profile in the comments of a viral “jewhatedb” Instagram post, where speculation was circulating about her employment following outrage over her antisemitic statements.

“In light of Governor Abbott’s designation of CAIR as a terrorist organization, it’s more urgent than ever for Americans to understand how lawfare is being deployed as a weapon of war—to intimidate, to silence, and to punish those who speak the truth,” said Brooke Goldstein, Executive Director and Founder of The Lawfare Project.  “CAIR has relied on these tactics for years. But that era is ending. Thanks to the courage of our clients and our co-counsel Ken Turkel, these abusive legal assaults are being exposed and defeated. The American public is finally seeing lawfare for what it is—and refusing to be bullied by it.”

 “Our clients in this case were sued not for spreading falsehoods, but for posting the truth,” said Jaclyn S. Clark, The Lawfare Project attorney who argued on behalf of Defendants at the motion to dismiss hearing. “CAIR’s latest lawfare tactic is to weaponize tort law against Jewish community members who speak out against antisemitism. We’re seeing similar lawsuits across the country. This ruling reaffirms what should never be in doubt: the First Amendment does not yield to harassment litigation. If the Plaintiff chooses to refile, we will vigorously defend our clients and use this case to establish precedent that stops CAIR’s attempts to intimidate Jews into silence.”

Represented by attorneys from The Lawfare Project and Turkel Cuva Barrios, P.A., the Defendants moved to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim. The Honorable Jacqueline Becerra granted the motion after holding oral argument on November 19th, dismissing the Complaint without prejudice. In doing so, the Court recognized that the Complaint was fatally flawed on causation: Khorashi’s own complaint acknowledges that Chartwell Law alone decided to terminate her based on its assessment of her social media activity, and that widespread attention to her posts came from many sources.

The Court also made clear that sharing truthful, publicly available information–as the Defendants did here–cannot give rise to a tortious interference claim under Florida law.  

“This decision reflects proper application of core First Amendment principles in this case,” said Ken Turkel, partner at Turkel Cuva Barrios Guerra, P.A. “Florida law and the Constitution protect the right to share truthful information about matters of public concern. We will continue to defend these rights to the full extent of the law should Plaintiff attempt to refile.”

The Lawfare Project’s defense of this case underscores the vital importance of protecting constitutional rights from those who seek to erode them through intimidation and litigation.