(JNS.org) Robert J. Tolchin, a New York-based civil rights lawyer who in 2012 helped a Florida family win a landmark $323 million judgment from Iran and Syria over those countries’ involvement in a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, said he may file legal action against the New Israel Fund (NIF) if the organization fails to confirm that it does not fund boycotts against Israel.

In a letter dated March 12 that was obtained by JNS.org, Tolchin wrote on behalf of The Berkman Law Office, LLC to NIF President Rabbi Brian Lurie, “This letter is a warning that the New Israel Fund should under no circumstances support, publicly or privately, any boycott or similar effort against the Israeli government or the nation’s organizations, academic institutions, corporations or other entities. The BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement’s efforts are unlawful racial discrimination on the basis of national origin and/or race, creed and religion under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (‘Anti-Racism Convention’) and numerous U.S. state and federal statutes.”

While the NIF publicly states that it opposes the BDS movement, the organization has come under fire over its funding of anti-Israel and BDS-linked groups such as B’Tselem, Adalah, Shovrim Shtika (Breaking the Silence), Yesh Din, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Rabbis for Human Rights, Machsom Watch, and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. Tolchin asked the organization to provide The Berkman Law Office with written confirmation of its intention not to fund BDS activities.