Electronic Intifada:
New York bill would create official blacklist of Israel boycott supporters.
A law being proposed in New York would create an official blacklist of supporters of the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
Legal experts and activists say the measure is reminiscent of the McCarthy era and could have drastic consequences for individuals, organizations or firms who engage with the campaign to pressure Israel to respect Palestinian rights.
Anti-BDS legislation was also introduced this week in California. Two New York bills — one introduced in the state senate and another in the assembly — would require the state government to “develop, using credible information available to the public, a list of persons it determines boycotts [sic] Israel.”
Individuals or entities included on the state’s blacklist would be barred from partnering with state agencies unless they can demonstrate in a written statement that they are “not engaged in boycotting Israel.” State pension funds would also be prohibited from investing in institutions that have divested from Israel.
Activists with the Palestine Solidarity Collective in New York are collecting signatures for a petition to lawmakers against the bill. Nearly two dozen North America-based activist organizations are opposing the legislation.
The New York bills are “the most egregious, most McCarthyite, most obvious violations of people’s First Amendment rights,” Josh Ruebner, policy director for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, told The Electronic Intifada.
If passed into law, the measure could hit local organizations that provide essential community services. Church groups, for example, that may belong to denominations which have passed boycott or divestment resolutions, often receive state funds to provide social programs such as homeless shelters and soup kitchens. “Does that mean that all these churches will become ineligible to feed the hungry?” Ruebner asked.
A separate resolution pending in New York, HR-567, would condemn the European Union’s decision to accurately label goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights.
Visit our website http://www.freedom2boycott.com
New York bill would create official blacklist of Israel boycott supporters.
A law being proposed in New York would create an official blacklist of supporters of the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
Legal experts and activists say the measure is reminiscent of the McCarthy era and could have drastic consequences for individuals, organizations or firms who engage with the campaign to pressure Israel to respect Palestinian rights.
Anti-BDS legislation was also introduced this week in California. Two New York bills — one introduced in the state senate and another in the assembly — would require the state government to “develop, using credible information available to the public, a list of persons it determines boycotts [sic] Israel.”
Individuals or entities included on the state’s blacklist would be barred from partnering with state agencies unless they can demonstrate in a written statement that they are “not engaged in boycotting Israel.” State pension funds would also be prohibited from investing in institutions that have divested from Israel.
Activists with the Palestine Solidarity Collective in New York are collecting signatures for a petition to lawmakers against the bill. Nearly two dozen North America-based activist organizations are opposing the legislation.
The New York bills are “the most egregious, most McCarthyite, most obvious violations of people’s First Amendment rights,” Josh Ruebner, policy director for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, told The Electronic Intifada.
If passed into law, the measure could hit local organizations that provide essential community services. Church groups, for example, that may belong to denominations which have passed boycott or divestment resolutions, often receive state funds to provide social programs such as homeless shelters and soup kitchens. “Does that mean that all these churches will become ineligible to feed the hungry?” Ruebner asked.
A separate resolution pending in New York, HR-567, would condemn the European Union’s decision to accurately label goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights.
Visit our website http://www.freedom2boycott.com