Thursday, July 20, 2017
Condemnation
Grows for Bipartisan Attack on Free Speech Rights of BDS Supporters
Lawmakers urged to reject bill that would punish Americans for
supporting boycotts of Israel
A pair of bipartisan bills targeting boycotts of Israel and
Israeli settlements appear to have widespread support in Congress, to the
dismay of civil rights advocates who say the proposals are an attack on free
speech.
The Israeli Anti-Boycott Act targets the Boycott, Divest, and
Sanction (BDS) movement aimed at ending Israel's occupation of the West Bank
through a refusal to economically support the country. The law would
specifically ban support by any U.S. citizen for international boycott efforts
against Israel.
The law would make supporting such boycotts punishable by a fine
of at least $250,000, with a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a
fine of $1 million.
How can one credibly inveigh against 'authoritarianism' while
sponsoring a bill that dictates to American citizens what political views they
are and are not allowed to espouse under threat of criminal prosecution?—Glenn
Greenwald and Ryan Grim, The Intercept
Despite the clear breach of the First Amendment that the bills
represent, 42 senators and 234 representatives from both sides of the aisle
have signed on as co-sponsors.
MoveOn.org tweeted about the bill's bipartisan support on
Wednesday, urging lawmakers to stand up for the free speech rights of all
Americans, regardless of whether their views align with the official U.S.
stance on Israel.
Regardless
how you feel about BDS, Congress must reject action to criminalize free speech
& peaceful protest (1/3)
—
MoveOn.org (@MoveOn) July 19, 2017
.@TheDemocrats in
House and Senate must say no to H.R. 1697/S. 720. Free speech and peaceful
protest are integral to democracy. (2/3)
—
MoveOn.org (@MoveOn) July 19, 2017
The
American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to
senators on Monday, urging them to reject the bill and noting that Americans
are and should remain free to offer or withhold economic support to whatever
entity they choose, for whatever reasons they see fit. The ACLU wrote:
"There
are millions of businesses and individuals who do no business with Israel, or
with companies doing business there, for a number of reasons...Under the bill,
however, only a person whose lack of business ties to Israel is politically
motivated would be subject to fines and imprisonment – even though there are
many others who engage in the very same behavior."
At The
Intercept, Glenn Greenwald and Ryan Grim noted that
strong bipartisan support calls into question the claimed commitment to
democratic ideals of many of bills' co-sponsors.
"It
is hard to put into words the irony of watching many of the most celebrated and
beloved congressional leaders of the anti-authoritarian Resistance —
Gillibrand, Schiff, Swalwell, and Lieu — sponsor one of the most oppressive and
authoritarian bills to appear in Congress in many years," Greenwald and
Grim write. "How can one credibly inveigh against 'authoritarianism' while
sponsoring a bill that dictates to American citizens what political views they
are and are not allowed to espouse under threat of criminal prosecution?"
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Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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