I can't believe I almost overlooked this softball:
The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that Epstein, Edell, Shapiro, Finman & Lytle LLC of Rockville, Maryland, agreed to pay a $17,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it violated the antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) alleged that in February of 2002, in connection with transactions involving the transfer of information from the United States to Syria, Epstein furnished prohibited information about another person's business relationships with Israel in violation of the EAR.
So a law firm called Epstein, Edell, Shapiro, Finman & Lytle stands accused of cooperating with the Arab boycott of Israel. Guys, listen up. I'm not sure about Lytle, but the rest of you are going to have some explaining to do at the monthly Brotherhood bagel brunch. And I don't want to belabor the point, but let's just say that this is not the sort of activity that will get your name in the program for the next Israel Bonds dinner.
What a shanda.
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