We are writing to strongly oppose A.9036, currently in the Governmental Operations Committee of the NY Assembly, as well as any similar legislation that creates unconstitutional blacklists. We share deep concerns about unconstitutional attacks on boycotts, a form of protected political speech. We call on you to stop this legislation, and oppose any similar efforts.
This legislation mandates that New York State create a blacklist of individuals and entities that exercise their constitutional right to utilize boycott as a form of free speech. Under this bill, individuals and entities that boycott a country (or companies based in that country) from a selective list of “allied nations” will be ineligible to contract with the state. The legislation also calls for the state to divest its holdings from any corporation that boycotts an “allied nation*.”
The proposed legislation runs counter to the US Supreme Court decision in NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co., which concluded that boycotts constitute a political form of expression that “occupies the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values.”
Join organizations across NY state opposing legislation that creates unconstitutional blacklists. Add your organization to the growing list of co-sponsors by following the link below.
[list in formation]
Center for Constitutional Rights
Palestine Legal
National Lawyers Guild - NYC,
Peace Action New York State
Peace Action of Staten Island
NY State Council of Churches
United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
American Friends Service Committee Northeast Region
New York Conference, United Church of Christ
Kairos: The Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice
Stony Point Center, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
United Methodist Upper NY Task Force on Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel
Park Slope United Methodist Church, Social Action Committee
Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, New York Chapter
Ithaca Area Episcopal Peace Fellowship
Christians Witnessing for Palestine (Rochester)
Task Force on Israel-Palestine at St. Michael's Church
Maryknoll Sisters
Jewish Voice for Peace - National
Jewish Voice for Peace - New York City Chapter
Jewish Voice for Peace - Ithaca Chapter
Jewish Voice for Peace - Albany Chapter
Jewish Voice for Peace - Westchester Chapter
Jewish Voice for Peace - Rochester Chapter
JEWS SAY NO!
Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
Jews for Racial & Economic Justice
Council on American Islamic Relations, New York (CAIR-NY)
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) NY
North American Climate,Conservation and Environment
Rainforest Relief
MADRE
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
US Palestinian Community Network
MENA Solidarity Network-US
Al-Awda New York, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
American Studies Association
American Association of University Professors - NYU Chapter
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid
Adalah-NY: the New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel
U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
Labor for Palestine
Saoirse Palestine
Brooklyn For Peace
Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace
North Manhattan Neighbors for Peace and Justice
Peace Action at Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Peace Action & Education (Rochester)
Peace Action Geneseo
Western New York Peace Center
War Resisters League
CODEPINK New York
Concerned Families of Westchester
WESPAC Foundation
Committee for Open Discussion of Zionism
Park Slope Food Coop for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Syracuse Peace Council
Democratizing Knowledge Collective
Elias Foundation
Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America
Ithaca Showing Up for Racial Justice
Middle East Crisis Response (MECR)
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine
Hunter College Students for Justice in Palestine
Students for Justice in Palestine at the College of Staten Island
Saint Joseph's College Students for Justice in Palestine
New School Students for Justice in Palestine
NYC Students for Justice in Palestine
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
International Socialist Organization
Green Party, U.S.
Granny Peace Brigade
Women of a Certain Age
Women in Black, Union Square
Women In Black, Washington Heights
Women in Black, New Paltz
Go to the link below to add your organization: