(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/2/22) — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, yesterday said it has submitted comments to a subcommittee of the Virginia House of Delegates Committee on General Laws that is due to consider HB 1161, 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.
CAIR urged all members of the subcommittee to vote “NO” on advancing the unconstitutional anti-boycott bill.
[NOTE: 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.]
Submitted by CAIR Director of Government Affairs Department Robert S. McCaw, CAIR’s comments read in part:
“Under HB 1161, a business owner could boycott any U.S. state, the federal government, Canada, or Mexico without any consequence. But a business owner’s boycott of Israel would disqualify a person from doing business with Virginia. This kind of viewpoint-specific oath, designed for the benefit of a single foreign nation, is an obvious violation of the First Amendment…
“HB 1161 is clearly designed to suppress Palestinian human rights activism within the state of Virginia by prohibiting government contractors from boycotting Israel, in violation of the First Amendment, which bars Virginia from using government contracts as a vehicle for content-based discrimination.”
READ CAIR’S COMMENTS TO THE SUBCOMMITTEE:
https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/VABDSBILL.pdf
CAIR noted that Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) issued an action alert urging members of the public to call on the Virginia state legislature to oppose HB 1161.
CAIR also noted that yesterday, Amnesty International released a report declaring Israel an “apartheid” state.
Last week, CAIR welcomed a victory in its First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of an engineering firm, owned by Rasmy Hassouna, that refused to sign an anti-BDS loyalty oath to Israel as part of the company’s contract with the city of Houston, Texas.
In his ruling granting an injunction that blocks Texas from enforcing the anti-boycott law against Hassouna, United States District Judge Andrew S. Hanen wrote in part:
“The speech contemplated by [Rasmy’s company] may make some individuals—especially those who identify with Israel—uncomfortable, anxious, or even angry. Nevertheless, speech—even speech that upsets other segments of the population—is protected by the First Amendment unless it escalates into violence and misconduct.”
Judge Hanen added: “The Court does find that Hassouna authentically holds a pro-Palestinian point of view that is protected by the First Amendment.”
In 2019, CAIR won a landmark legal victory in a lawsuit over a similar version of the Virginia bill.
CAIR called a proposed bill in Georgia to implement an anti-BDS law “a doomed effort” after a federal court ruled the original version of the law in that state was unconstitutional.
SEE: Civil Rights Groups Condemn Georgia House Bill 383 as ‘Doomed’ Effort to Save State’s Unconstitutional Anti-Boycott Law
Earlier this year, the Georgia chapter of CAIR, CAIR Legal Defense Fund and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) welcomed a “major victory” in their lawsuit against Georgia’s Israel boycott law after a federal district court ruled that the State of Georgia’s 2016 law punishing boycotts of Israel is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.
SEE: CAIR & PCJF Win ‘Major Victory’ in Federal Lawsuit Against Georgia’s Anti-Israel Boycott Law; Court Rules Anti-BDS Law Violates the First Amendment
CAIR, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other civil rights organizations have filed free speech lawsuits against anti-BDS laws in Georgia, Arkansas, Arizona, Maryland, and Texas, where CAIR won a landmark legal victory in 2019.
SEE: Texas Judge Blocks Law Banning Contractors from Engaging in Boycotts of Israel
SEE: Arizona Lawmakers Running Scared After Anti-Boycott Law Ruled Unconstitutional
The federal court in Texas held at that time that the state’s anti-boycott law “threatens to suppress unpopular ideas” and “manipulate the public debate” on Israel and Palestine “through coercion rather than persuasion.” The Court concluded: “This the First Amendment does not allow.”
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 Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-642-4934, lmasri@cair.com; CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com