Our Lawmakers Think They Can Get Away With This
Tell your senator not to support biased pro-Israel resolution and vote “no” if it goes to the floor!
(WASHINGTON, D.C. 10/23/2017) – Last week, in a move that completely defies historical accuracy and any semblance of objectivity, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced to the Senate a companion to a House Resolution already submitted by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R.-Fla.), affirming “the Jewish people’s historical connection to Jerusalem.”
This resolution also comes on the heels of the U.S. State Department and Israel both announcing their withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) citing its “anti-Israel bias” in recent years. In 2011, the U.S. pulled its funding from UNESCO after it granted Palestine full membership and recognition as a state.
Though the U.S. is to become no more than an “observer state,” Sen. Cruz and Rep. Gaetz’s resolution vows to prevent any future “anti-Israel resolutions” from passing in UNESCO. The resolution also bizarrely draws on Israel’s alleged “millennia-old connection of Jerusalem to the Jewish people, and, by extension, to Christianity,” while entirely ignoring the connection the indigenous Palestinian inhabitants have to their land or even extending the historical connection to Jerusalem to Muslim worshippers.
“Our objection to this resolution is that its language is biased and relies on a one-sided narrative that defies established historical facts. Furthermore, it entirely omits Palestinian historical ties to their land and the current agony they suffer under Israeli occupation, particularly in the continued ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem” said Dr. Osama Abuirshaid, AMP national policy director.
This resolution, which was simultaneously introduced in both the House and the Senate, has identical language and is likely written and advanced by the “Israel First” lobby. Cruz and Ros-Lehtinen, in particular, have been two of the most zealous and shameless peddlers of Israeli propaganda, and this is yet another example their biased agenda.
TAKE ACTION
AMP calls on its supporters and all concerned citizens to call their U.S. senatorsand representatives to voice their objections to S. Res. 291and H. Res. 570, respectively. Tell them to vote “no” if it ever reaches the floor to vote, and that in no way will this egregious one-sided resolution ever bring peace and stability to the region.
Wisconsin state legislature introduces anti-BDS bill
Last Thursday, the Wisconsin State Assembly introduced new anti-BDS legislation. This bill prohibits any state agency or other body in state and local government from adopting a rule, ordinance, policy, or procedure that involves [the government] in a boycott of Israel or a person doing business in Israel or in a territory under Israeli jurisdiction.
The bill also requires contracts for materials, supplies, equipment, and services between state purchasing agents and nongovernmental entities to include a provision that the nongovernmental entity is not currently participating, or will not for the duration of the contract participate, in a prohibited boycott.
In other words, this bill would prohibit any government entity in Wisconsin from boycotting Israel and prohibits any government entity from doing business or issuing any contracts with anyone who boycotts Israel.
The bill’s stated purpose of targeting boycotts of Israel, as well as its vagueness, enormous financial penalty, and potential for misuse, will chill and suppress speech protected by the U.S. Constitution. This bill is part of a national wave of legislation that attempts to curtail speech critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Twenty-one states have enacted anti-BDS legislation already, and Wisconsin would become the 22nd if the State Assembly elects to pass this bill into law.
TAKE ACTION
Wisconsin citizens: Call your state representatives to demand they vote “no” on the pending anti-BDS bill. Now is the time to make a difference before it’s too late, and prevent it from being entered into law. Tell lawmakers that boycotting Israel is constitutionally protected free speech and a form of peaceful protest. Protect the first amendment and put Wisconsin residents first.
Dickinson, Texas to Hurricane victims: No Harvey relief for boycotters of Israel
On Friday, the Texas suburb of Dickinson issued a grant relief application for victims of Hurricane Harvey. An example of the direct impact anti-BDS bills have on average U.S. citizens, a special clause mandated that applicants may not engage in any boycott of the State of Israel or they would be denied relief.
This vindictive measure, based on the bill signed into law by Gov. Gregg Abbott in May, and which took effect September 1, would punish citizens for exercising their first amendment right to express their political opinion. The state of Texas would deny its own residents necessary disaster relief by putting a foreign country’s interests ahead of its own people.
Civil rights organizations such as the ACLU have also condemned the boycott provision of the application as a violation of free speech. “The First Amendment protects Americans’ right to boycott, and the government cannot condition hurricane relief or any other public benefit on a commitment to refrain from protected political expression,” ACLU of Texas Legal Director Andre Segura said in a statement.
Sadly, we are already seeing the destructive impact these odious bills have on average people’s lives. Boycotting Israel is now illegal in 21 states. We must fight back against the very premise of these laws, whether in states that have already passed them or in states where these bills are currently being introduced. Silencing political dissent is always the first step towards tyranny.
TAKE ACTION
AMP calls on all supporters and concerned citizens to demand disaster relief for Hurricane Harvey victims that is not contingent on surrendering constitutionally protected rights. Call the city of Dickinson, TX and demand that officials not link the survival of their own citizens to their political beliefs.
Ron Morales
Interim City Administrator
Email: [email protected]
Ph: 281-337-6204
Alun W. Thomas
City Secretary
Email: [email protected]
Ph: 281-337-6217