(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/9/23) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on all Virginians to take part in its click-and-send action alert urging the Virginian State Senate to oppose the adoption of a pair of bills designed to silence and penalize proponents of Palestinian human rights.
TAKE ACTION: URGE VA SENATE TO OPPOSE ANTI-FREE SPEECH, ANTI-PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS BILLS
Anti-Boycott Bill: On Tuesday, the Virginia State House narrowly approved HB 1898 (50-Y 48-N 1-A), a bill that would violate the First Amendment rights of state contractors and their employees by requiring them to sign contracts with a provision banning boycotts of Israel. A similar bill failed to be adopted by the assembly last year.
Similar anti-BDS measures have been enacted in more than 20 other states as part of an effort to block the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Modeled after the global South African anti-apartheid movement, the BDS movement’s stated goal is to pressure the Israeli government to end its occupation of Palestinian territory. CAIR is urging the Virginia state senate to oppose advancing this unconstitutional anti-boycott bill.
A Flawed Anti-Semitism Bill Designed to Silence Palestinian Activists: On Tuesday, the Virginia State House also passed HB 1606 (73-Y 25-N), a flawed and divisive measure that would have the state assume the “Working Definition of Antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance,” which harmfully conflates criticism of Zionism and the state of Israel with antisemitism.
The original drafter of the IHRA definition called it a “working definition” that was meant to help collect data on incidents of antisemitic hate and testified to the U.S. Congress that if government bodies “enshrine this definition into law, outside groups will try and suppress – rather than answer – political speech they don’t like. The academy, Jewish students, and faculty teaching about Jewish issues, will all suffer.
On Monday, the American Bar Association adopted a resolution on antisemitism which dropped earlier language that would have included references of the IHRA definition on antisemitism. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the largest organization of university professors and other academics in the United States, has also publicly, vocally and strongly opposed the IHRA definition, issuing a policy document making the case for how “academic and intellectual freedom are threatened because the definition regards Palestinian activism as a form of discrimination.”
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected] CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]