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<\/a>Photo: Mark Apollo\/Pacific Press\/SIPA\/AP<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
by Glen Greenwald & Ryan Grim
\nThe Intercept<\/p>\n
THE CRIMINALIZATION OF<\/u>\u00a0political speech and\u00a0activism against Israel has become one of the\u00a0gravest threats to free speech<\/a>\u00a0in the West. In France, activists have been\u00a0arrested and prosecuted<\/a>\u00a0for wearing T-shirts\u00a0advocating a boycott<\/a>\u00a0of Israel. The U.K. has\u00a0enacted a series of measures<\/a>designed to outlaw such activism. In the U.S., governors\u00a0compete with one another<\/a>\u00a0over who can implement the most extreme regulations to bar businesses from participating in any boycotts aimed even at Israeli settlements, which the\u00a0world regards as illegal<\/a>. On U.S. campuses, punishment of pro-Palestinian students for expressing criticisms of Israel is\u00a0so commonplace<\/a>\u00a0that the Center for Constitutional Rights\u00a0refers to it<\/a>\u00a0as \u201cthe Palestine Exception\u201d to free speech.<\/p>\n But now, a group of 43 senators \u2014 29 Republicans and 14 Democrats \u2014 wants to implement a law that would make it\u00a0a felony<\/em>\u00a0for Americans to support the international\u00a0boycott against Israel, which was launched in protest of that country\u2019s decades-old\u00a0occupation of Palestine. The two primary sponsors\u00a0of the bill<\/a>\u00a0are Democrat Ben Cardin of Maryland and Republican Rob Portman of Ohio. Perhaps the most shocking aspect is the punishment: Anyone guilty of violating the prohibitions will face a minimum civil penalty of $250,000 and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and\u00a020 years in prison<\/em>.<\/p>\n The proposed measure, called the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S. 720), was introduced by Cardin on March 23. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that the bill \u201cwas drafted with the assistance of the\u00a0American Israel Public Affairs Committee.\u201d Indeed, AIPAC, in its\u00a02017 lobbying agenda<\/a>, identified passage of this bill as one of its top lobbying priorities for the year:<\/p>\n The bill\u2019s\u00a0co-sponsors include<\/a>\u00a0the senior Democrat in Washington, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, his New York colleague Kirsten Gillibrand, and several of the Senate\u2019s more liberal members, such as Ron Wyden of Oregon, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Maria Cantwell of Washington. Illustrating the bipartisanship that AIPAC typically summons, it also includes several of the most right-wing senators such as Ted Cruz of Texas, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and Marco Rubio of Florida.<\/p>\n [Update \u2013 July 20, 2017: Glen Caplin, senior advisor to Gillibrand, sends along the following statement: \u201cWe have a different read of the specific bill language, however, due to the ACLU\u2019s concerns, the Senator has extended an invitation to them to meet with her and discuss their concerns.\u201d]<\/p>\n A\u00a0similar measure<\/a>\u00a0was introduced in the House on the same date by two Republicans and one Democrat. It has already amassed 234 co-sponsors:\u00a063 Democrats and 174 Republicans.<\/a>\u00a0As in the Senate, AIPAC has assembled\u00a0an impressive ideological diversity among supporters, predictably including many of the most right-wing House members \u2014 Jason Chaffetz, Liz Cheney, Peter King \u2014 along with the second-ranking Democrat in the House, Steny Hoyer.<\/p>\n Among the co-sponsors of the bill are several of the politicians who have become political celebrities by positioning themselves as media leaders of the anti-Trump #Resistance, including three California House members who have become heroes to Democrats and staples of the cable news circuit: Ted Lieu, Adam Schiff, and Eric Swalwell. These politicians, who have built a wide public following by posturing as opponents of authoritarianism, are sponsoring one of the most oppressive and authoritarian bills that has pended before Congress in quite some time.<\/p>\n LAST NIGHT, THE<\/u>\u00a0ACLU\u00a0posted a letter<\/a>\u00a0it sent to all members of\u00a0the Senate urging them to oppose this bill. Warning that \u201cproponents of the bill are seeking additional co-sponsors,\u201d the civil liberties group explained that \u201cit would punish individuals for no reason other than their political beliefs.\u201d The letter detailed what makes this bill so particularly threatening to basic civic freedoms:<\/p>\n It is no small thing for the ACLU to insert itself into this controversy. One of the\u00a0most traumatic events<\/a>\u00a0in the organization\u2019s history was when it lost large numbers of donors and supporters in the late 1970s after it\u00a0defended the free speech rights of neo-Nazis to march through Skokie, Illinois, a town with a large community of Holocaust survivors.<\/p>\n Even the bravest of organizations often steadfastly avoid any controversies relating to Israel. Yet here, while appropriately pointing out that the ACLU \u201ctakes no position for or against the effort to boycott Israel or any foreign country,\u201d the group\u00a0categorically denounces this AIPAC-sponsored proposal for what it is: a bill that \u201cseeks only to punish the exercise of constitutional rights.\u201d<\/p>\n The ACLU has\u00a0similarly opposed<\/a>\u00a0bipartisan efforts at the state level to punish businesses that\u00a0participate in the boycott, pointing out that \u201cboycotts to achieve political goals are a form of expression that the Supreme Court has ruled are protected by the First Amendment\u2019s protections of freedom of speech, assembly, and petition,\u201d and that such bills \u201cplace unconstitutional conditions on the exercise of constitutional rights.\u201d The bill now co-sponsored in Congress by more than half of the House and close to half of the Senate is far more extreme than those.<\/p>\n THUS FAR, NOT<\/u>\u00a0a single member of Congress has joined the ACLU in denouncing this bill. The Intercept this morning sent inquiries to numerous non-committed members of the Senate and House who have yet to speak on this bill. We also sent inquiries to several co-sponsors of the bill\u00a0\u2014 such as Rep.\u00a0Lieu \u2014 who have\u00a0positioned themselves<\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0civil liberties champions<\/a>\u00a0and opponents of authoritarianism, asking:<\/p>\n Congressman Lieu: Last night, the ACLU vehemently denounced a bill that you are co-sponsoring \u2014 to criminalize support for a boycott of Israel \u2014 as a grave attack on free speech. Do you have any comment on the ACLU\u2019s denunciation? You\u2019ve been an outspoken champion for civil liberties; how can you reconcile that record with an effort to make it a felony for Americans to engage in activism that protests a foreign government\u2019s actions? We\u2019re writing about this today; any statement would be appreciated.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This morning, Lieu responded: \u201cThank you for sharing the letter. The bill has been around since March and this is the first time I have seen this issue raised. We will look into it.\u201d (The Intercept will post any response from Rep. Lieu, or any late responses\u00a0from others, as soon as they are received.)<\/p>\n Sen.\u00a0Cantwell told The Intercept she is \u201ca strong supporter of free speech rights\u201d and will be reviewing the bill for First Amendment concerns in light of the ACLU statement.<\/p>\n Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, when asked by The Intercept about the ACLU\u2019s warning that the bill he is co-sponsoring criminalizes free speech, affirmed his support for the bill by responding: \u201cI continue to support a strong U.S.\/Israel relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, some co-sponsors seemed not to have any idea what they co-sponsored \u2014 almost as though they reflexively sign whatever comes from AIPAC without having any idea what\u2019s in it. Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, for instance, seemed genuinely bewildered when told of the ACLU\u2019s letter, saying, \u201cWhat\u2019s the Act? You\u2019ll have to get back to me on that.\u201d<\/p>\n A\u00a0similar\u00a0exchange took place with another co-sponsor, one of AIPAC\u2019s most reliable allies, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who said: \u201cI\u2019d want to read it. \u2026 I\u2019d really have to look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a co-sponsor, said she hadn\u2019t seen the ACLU letter but would give it a look. \u201cI certainly will take their position into consideration, just like I take everybody\u2019s position into consideration,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Gillibrand, the only senator in the 2020 presidential mix to co-sponsor the bill, told The Intercept she would have a statement to provide, which we\u2019ll add as soon as it\u2019s provided.<\/p>\n Perhaps most stunning is our interview with the primary sponsor of the bill, Democratic Sen. Benjamin Cardin, who seemed to have no idea what was in his bill, particularly insisting that it contains no criminal penalties.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n