United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 20-3233 STANLEY BOIM, individually and as Administrator of the ESTATE OF DAVID BOIM, and JOYCE BOIM, Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v. AMERICAN MUSLIMS FOR PALESTINE, et al., Defendants-Appellees. ____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 1:17-cv-03591 — Sharon Johnson Coleman, Judge. ____________________

ARGUED MAY 27, 2021 — DECIDED AUGUST 16, 2021 ____________________

Before KANNE, SCUDDER, and KIRSCH, Circuit Judges. SCUDDER, Circuit Judge. In 1996 David Boim was shot and killed by Hamas terrorists while studying abroad in Israel. His parents later sued several American nonprofit organiza- tions for their role in funding Hamas and secured a $156 mil- lion judgment under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act. Those or- ganizations then shuttered, leaving Stanley and Joyce Boim mostly empty handed. So in 2017 they filed a new lawsuit 2 No. 20-3233 against two different American entities and three individuals, alleging that these new defendants are alter egos of the now- defunct nonprofit organizations and therefore liable for the remainder of the $156 million judgment. In the new lawsuit, the district court allowed limited juris- dictional discovery, decided the new entities and individuals were not alter egos of the defunct nonprofits, and then dis- missed the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. This should not have happened, for the district court’s finding on the alter ego question constituted a merits determination that went beyond a proper jurisdictional inquiry. Because the Boims’ new lawsuit arises under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the district court possessed federal jurisdiction and should have allowed the case to proceed on the merits, consistent with the ordinary course of civil litigation. We therefore reverse and remand for renewed proceedings. I A The tragic end to David Boim’s life marked the beginning of a decades-long effort by his parents to hold those responsi- ble to account. David, a 17-year-old American citizen, was studying in Israel when two Hamas terrorists shot him in the head at a bus stop near Jerusalem in 1996. David’s parents re- sponded by suing several United States-based organizations and individuals under the civil liability provision of the Anti- Terrorism Act. See 18 U.S.C. § 2333(a) (1992). This statute cre- ates a federal cause of action by providing any United States national (or his estate, survivors, or heirs) with a right to sue in federal court and to recover treble damages for injuries re- sulting from an act of international terrorism. See id. No. 20-3233 3

The Boims alleged that the defendant organizations and individuals fundraised for and funneled money to Hamas op- eratives in the West Bank and Gaza, who in turn used those funds to carry out the attack on David. In that way, the Boims contended, these entities provided material support or re- sources to terrorism and to a foreign terrorist organization in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2339A and 2339B, and therefore were civilly liable under § 2333(a) for David’s killing. Although the murder occurred overseas, the Boims filed their action in federal court in Chicago because several of the organizational defendants maintained offices in the Northern District of Illinois. The case proceeded to summary judgment, and the district court determined that the evidence compelled a finding that three defendants were liable under § 2333(a): the Islamic Association for Palestine