February 2018
Tell Congress: Oppose anti-boycott legislation. Take action at the ELCA Action Center.
Dangerous
bills that could undermine the work of advocates for a just peace for
Palestinians and Israelis continue to make their way through Congress. These
include the
Israel Anti-Boycott Act (H.R. 1697 and S. 720) and the Combating BDS Act of
2017 (H.R. 2856 and S. 170) which
are part of a larger effort at the federal and state levels to outlaw or penalize
the use of boycotts, divestment and sanctions aimed at Israeli government
policies.
It is urgent that members of Congress hear from
constituents who oppose these and similar bills. The U.N. Human Rights Office recently released a report outlining progress in
developing a database of businesses engaged in certain activities related to
Israeli settlements, as mandated earlier by the U.N. Human Rights Council. A new House resolution critical of the council includes
a call to support the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.
As explained by Lara Friedman in the “APN Legislative Round-Up,”
the Israel Anti-Boycott Act
would, among other things, “amend core U.S. law regarding foreign boycotts … to
make it illegal for U.S. companies to boycott or otherwise discriminate against
settlements based on calls by the UN or the EU.” See also her analysis and those of others of what the bills would do
to existing law. The Combating BDS Act
supports state-level anti-BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) legislation
“by affirming the legal authority of state and local governments to take
tangible actions to counter economic warfare against Israel,” as stated in the news release introducing the bill.
Besides the serious problem of curtailing free expression, both sets of bills
also conflate Israel and the settlements, erasing the distinction between
Israel and its illegal settlements in the West Bank.
These bills infringe on the
right to boycott, which the Supreme Court has affirmed. Furthermore, they would put legal obstacles in the way of non-violent
peaceful action meant to bring about social change and would legislate against
the freedom to make choices in the stewardship of our financial resources.
In
addition to legislation before Congress, numerous
states have adopted laws or executive orders aimed at
boycotts of Israel and/or Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
In January a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on one such law in Kansas,
stating “the Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment protects the right
to participate in a boycott like the one punished by the Kansas law.”
In a letter to all members of Congress
calling on them to oppose the Israel
Anti-Boycott Act, leaders representing an array of Christian
organizations, including Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Presiding
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, said:
As churches and church-related organizations, we all share a hope and
desire for an end to occupation, an end to violence and terrorism, and for
equal rights for all people. If our respective denominations and organizations,
through debate and reflection, adopt policies that employ economic leverage to
advance these policy objectives, as we do with many other policy objectives, we
believe it is our right to do so. It is an assertion of our right as stewards
of our financial resources to spend and invest according to our theological and
moral conviction, expressed in our respective denominational or organizational
policies.
In this case, our assertion of this right is an effort to change unjust
Israeli policy toward Palestinians, not to delegitimize the State of Israel,
nor to marginalize or isolate our Jewish neighbors, or their enterprises. Our
choices to purchase and invest responsibly, and to advocate with corporations
or governments, are motivated by our firm commitments to justice and peace for
all people, without discrimination or exclusion.
Urging opposition to the bill, the letter states,
“As churches and church-related organizations, we reject any efforts by the
state to curtail these rights. We urge you to oppose the proposed legislation,
and thus support the rights of individuals and institutions to spend and invest
in accordance with their faith, values, and policies.”
For ELCA policy on
boycott, divestment and sanctions see this memorandum and these FAQs about the 2016 Churchwide Assembly actions.
Contact your senators and representative to let them
know you support the message of the letter from Christian leaders. Urge them to
oppose the Israel Anti-Boycott Act
and the Combating BDS Act of 2017.
For further information:
The
Stealth Campaign to Support Settlements – In Congress
The
Stealth Campaign to Support Settlements – In States
How the Israel Anti-Boycott Act Threatens First Amendment Rights, ACLU, July 26, 2017
The Israel Anti-Boycott Act Is an Act of
Political Persecution, Lara
Friedman, Aug. 17, 2017
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