Thursday, May 21, 2015

Video: Ali Abunimah on efforts to outlaw Israel boycott in US, Canada

By Ali Abunimah

Link

I spoke to The Real News Network on Tuesday about Israel-lobby backed efforts to repress and legislate against the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement in the United States and Canada.
Watch the video above.
On Monday, the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously passed a law that would force state pension funds to divest from companies that have themselves boycotted or divested from activities supporting the Israeli occupation.
The law, the first of its kind in the US, defines “boycott” to mean any actions “that are politically motivated and are intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with the State of Israel or companies based in the State of Israel or in territories controlled by the State of Israel.”
As such, the law seeks to penalize and discourage even efforts against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are considered “illegitimate” by the US government and illegal under international law.
But the Illinois initiative is not alone, as legislatures and government officials in Indiana,California and the US Congress, among others, seek to halt BDS.
In Canada, the government recently threatened to prosecute people who advocate for Palestinian human and political rights through BDS, using “hate speech” laws.
In the interview, I argue that the Israel lobby’s turn to heavy-handed government repression and regulation is an attempt to hold back the changing tide of public opinion.

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