Fwd: Act Now to Defend Free Speech and Your Right to Boycott!
don bryant
From: A New Day for Palestine/Israel, Massachusetts Peace Action <A-NE...@masspeaceaction.org>
Date: Wed, Dec 12, 2018 at 4:01 PM
Subject: Act Now to Defend Free Speech and Your Right to Boycott!
To: <email.d...@gmail.com>
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Call Our Senators, Reps and House Leadership: Act Now to Defend Your Right to Boycott!
Dear Don,
But the Federal Israel Anti-Boycott Act (IABA) (HR.1697/S.720) is still alive and could pass before the end of this Congress. It is a draconian measure that would impose criminal penalties on individuals who support an international boycott for Palestinian rights. AIPAC has been trying to force it through Congress for nearly two years. Similarly, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act (HR.5924/S.2940) would strike at students' right to speak for Palestinian rights by embedding a one-sided definition of antisemitism into law. Now, we have learned that Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Tim Scott (R-SC) are moving to attach the IABA's anti-boycott language and the antisemitism language to the omnibus spending bill that Congress must pass by December 21 to avoid a partial government shutdown. Please take these actions today: 1. Call Nancy Pelosi (202-225-4965), House Democratic leader and probable future speaker, to make sure that there is no stealth anti-boycott or antisemitism language in any last-minute legislation. Leader Pelosi is in the best position to block the language.
2. Call and email your own Representative to ask that they contact Leader Pelosi and ask her to ensure anti-boycott or antisemitism anguage is not included. If your Representative is not on this list, reach them through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
3. Call and email our two Massachusetts Senators to ask that they pressure Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to block any similar attempt in the Senate.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Sen. Edward Markey Phone: 202-224-4543 Phone: 202-224-2742
Here’s a sample script, but please use your own words.
Hi, my name is ___ from and I am calling to ask the Representative/Senator to urge Congressional leadership not to include the Israel Anti-Boycott Act or Anti-Semitism Awareness Act in the omnibus budget bill or any must-pass legislation. The Israel Anti-Boycott Act would criminalize individuals who support the call of an international organization – like the UN or the EU – to boycott for Palestinian rights. The ACLU has said that this bill is a violation of our First Amendment rights. The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act would suppress the rights of students to speak for equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis. They should not be included in the omnibus. Thank you for passing on my views to. . .
The ACLU continues to regard the IABA as a fundamental attack on the rights of free speech, regardless of any cosmetic changes made in the new versions of the text. Even the pro-Israel lobby J-Street is opposed, in part because the legislation makes no distinction between “Israel” and its illegal settlements in the West Bank -- or in occupied Syria, I would add. Senator Warren, in an article by Haaretz (August 9, 2017) is quoted as saying: "I think outlawing protected free speech activity violates our basic constitution."
The decisions about whether to include anti-boycott and antisemitism language are being made behind closed doors and only the top Congressional leaders will decide what gets into the final version of this year’s budget. That’s why it’s extremely important that you ask our Senators and Representatives to deliver a message to their leadership. Please call them.
We need you to call and email our Senators and Representatives right now and ask them to pressure Congressional leadership not to include these bills in the omnibus; and please also call Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (202-225-4965) directly.
Sneaking this bill into the omnibus spending bill, which will be buried in thousands of pages of text and voted on as a single yes or no, without possibility of amendmend, is how AIPAC is trying to avoid having their bills debated and voted on in the open. It’s no coincidence that AIPAC and its Congressional allies are desperate to pass these bills now before the current Congress adjourns and a more progressive Congress is sworn in next month.
For Massachusetts Peace Action and its New Day for Israel and Palestine organizing project.
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With your help, last year we succeeded in blocking a Massachusetts stealth anti-BDS attack on free speech. (Unfortunately, 
