I suspect that there is less to this story than meets the eye. Nonetheless, it is tres amusant:
Somewhat recently there were multiple mermaid sightings off the coast of Kiryat Yam (near Haifa in Northern Israel) which prompted the town to offer up a $1 million reward for anyone who could prove the mythical creature exists. Once this news traveled all the way to New York, the Brooklyn-based Mermaid Medical Association got involved.
[T]hey're actually suing the town for defamation, because they exist in order to defend the rights of mermaids worldwide.
Somewhat recently there were multiple mermaid sightings off the coast of Kiryat Yam (near Haifa in Northern Israel) which prompted the town to offer up a $1 million reward for anyone who could prove the mythical creature exists. Once this news traveled all the way to New York, the Brooklyn-based Mermaid Medical Association got involved.
[T]hey're actually suing the town for defamation, because they exist in order to defend the rights of mermaids worldwide.