[Peace-discuss] "Telling people what the state believes"

[David Green]

I guess some "viewpoints" are not to be respected after all.
http://mondoweiss.net/2015/05/congress-legislatures-against
The Illinois measure on state pensions, which has passed the state Senate, is now being debated in the House. This measure, like the Congressional one, is a law with some teeth. The legislation requires pension funds to stop investing money in foreign companies that have boycotted Israel.In a statement, Palestine Solidarity Legal Support said that the bill forces “pension fund administrators to blacklist companies that boycott Israel or businesses that operate in ‘territories under the control of Israel.’ Illinois should not be shielding Israel from boycotts protesting human rights abuses and settlements, which are illegal under international law in what is considered occupied territory by the U.S. government.”Dima Khalidi, the director of Palestine Solidarity Legal Support, told me in an e-mail that one of the dangers of the Illinois bill is that it would have a “chilling” effect “not only on companies that would consider making ethical business decisions, but also on people who advocate for such decisions. When the state takes a policy position such as this, it is telling people what the state believes is acceptable discourse and political activity, thereby dissuading viewpoints that are contrary to that.”These efforts are looking to be more successful than the previous wave of anti-boycott bills that were debated after the American Studies Association voted to boycott Israel in late 2013. Many of those bills did not get support from pro-Israel lobby groups because of concerns over academic freedom and free speech, though. This crop of legislation has garnered more support from traditional bastions of pro-Israel advocacy.After an Illinois committee passed the anti-BDS bill, the Jewish group B’nai Brith International applauded the state representatives in a statement for “taking such a strong stance against a movement rooted in anti-Semitism that ultimately impedes the peace process by opposing constructive dialogue between Israel and Palestinians.”- See more at: Congress and state legislatures are on the warpath against BDS
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| Congress and state legislatures are on the warpath again...A crop of bills and resolutions in Congress and state legislatures are targeting the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Some are mere resolutions exp... |
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