Tell Leaders in Congress to Oppose the Covert Attempt to Unconstitutionally Suppress Pro-Palestinian Rights Advocacy

Reports have surfaces that lawmakers plan to hide two controversial bills in large omnibus packages for passage before the next Congress is sworn in.

Some pro-Israel groups have been trying to push legislation like the the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act in Congress for years, but they failed each time because of the violations of our First Amendment. Now, in a desperate act, some are trying to hide these acts in large, end-of-year spending bills.

This is unacceptable. Tell Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and House ...

Reports have surfaces that lawmakers plan to hide two controversial bills in large omnibus packages for passage before the next Congress is sworn in.

Some pro-Israel groups have been trying to push legislation like the the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act in Congress for years, but they failed each time because of the violations of our First Amendment. Now, in a desperate act, some are trying to hide these acts in large, end-of-year spending bills.

This is unacceptable. Tell Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that these controversial and unconstitutional pieces of legislation should not be passed in the dark.

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Tell Leaders in Congress to Oppose the Covert Attempt to Unconstitutionally Suppress Pro-Palestinian Rights Advocacy

359 emails sent

Reports have surfaced that lawmakers plan to hide two controversial bills in large omnibus packages for passage before the next Congress is sworn in.

Some pro-Israel groups have been trying to push legislation like the the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act in Congress for years, but they failed each time because of the violations of our First Amendment. Now, in a desperate act, some are trying to hide these acts in large, end-of-year spending bills.

This is unacceptable. Tell Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that these controversial and unconstitutional pieces of legislation should not be passed in the dark.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi:

I write to implore that you not allow the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act to be secretly included in a lame duck omnibus spending package.

Without regard for one's views on foreign policy or the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, these bills should be opposed for their domestic implications on free speech and the cherished right to boycott.

The Israel Anti-Boycott Act amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to proscribe the peaceful political expression of Americans, which is in direct opposition our most sacred political principles. Both First Amendment jurisprudence and the fundamental American value of free expression require that Congress hold sacred the peaceful expressions of Americans regarding political matters both at home and abroad. The Israel Anti-Boycott Act seeks to create an Israel exception to free speech by criminalizing the voluntary boycott of Israel or Israeli settlements in the West Bank, effectively erasing any legal distinction between Israel and settlements. The bill will prohibit peaceful political expression and undermine the bipartisan goal of a stated two-state solution regarding Israel and Palestine.

Next, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act fails to counteract anti-Semitism, and instead threatens to dilute the precious few federal resources devoted to defending civil rights in higher education. As you know, statistics from the FBI demonstrate a recent surge of bias-motivated hate incidents and crimes in the United States, including a 37% increase in anti-Jewish hate crimes. We must counteract this alarming trend. Unfortunately, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act fails to achieve that goal and instead defines anti-Semitism in such a way that includes criticisms of a foreign country, Israel. If passed, the bill would unconstitutionally proscribe legitimate political expression and would do nothing to counteract hate in our communities. By including criticisms of Israel as potential forms of anti-Semitism, this bill will draw resources away from prosecuting actual hate crimes against targeted and vulnerable communities, including the American Jewish community.

Both the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act and the Israel Anti-Boycott Act threaten the First Amendment rights of all Americans and are therefore unconstitutional and contrary to the political values Americans hold at the center of our civic life. As such, neither should be bundled into a large spending package, and instead deserve separate debates and votes in regular order.

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