AIPAC's senator and his apparent desire to silence Americans,

 

"“This bill is unconstitutional because it seeks to impose the government’s political views on Americans who choose to express themselves through boycotts,” said Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “The proposed changes are improvements, but the revised bill continues to penalize participants in political boycotts in violation of the First Amendment. If it is enacted in this form and takes effect, we will strongly consider fighting it in court.”

The bill seeks to prohibit companies from providing information to multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union that could be used to publicly list businesses operating in the West Bank. The latest version of the bill would make US-based companies and their employees legally liable if they “comply with, further or support” attempts by foreign countries or “international governmental organizations” to either boycott Israel or “to collect information” that could lead to a boycott."  Al-Monitor

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The ACLU says it MAY sue over this if it becomes law?  How could they not?  In its original form this AIPAC driven proposal would have subjected violators to a 20 year possible prison sentence for the expression of their opinion regarding Israel's seizures of Palestinian lands and the brutality of the IDF and Shin Bet in those territories held by Israel as spoils of war.  As originally written the law would have applied to all Americans as well as corporate America.  In other words SST would have become a criminal enterprise for the expression of our opinions and I would have been criminalized as the proprietor of this digital forum.

This current version "merely" punishes corporations and their employees for opposition to Israeli colonialism.

Can there be any doubt that Cardin's real loyalty is not to the United States? pl 

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/03/israel-anti-boycott-bill-closer-passing-senate-revisions.html?utm_campaign=20180307&utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily%20Newsletter

Comments

[iowa steve]

Here's what the ACLU actually said as quoted above:

"The revised bill continues to penalize participants in political boycotts in violation of the First Amendment. If it is enacted in this form and takes effect, we will strongly consider fighting it in court."

That's a lot stronger than "may fight it". There could be any number of reasons why no absolute commitment is given, primarily that 1) there are other legal entities who also do 1st amendment work and 2) they have to read the actual contents of the bill if and when it passes prior to giving a legal opinion, which would be what any attorney would say.

[SAC Brat]

This could get weird very fast as there are many Israeli firearms and cartridges for sale in the US. If the Parkland shooter didn't use Israeli gear was he being anti-Semitic?

[mikee]

All is not lost.

"WASHINGTON — A federal court in Kansas has suspended a state law requiring contractors to swear they will not boycott Israel, saying it violates speech rights.

The decision Tuesday by the US Court for the District of Kansas is not final, and the parties — a teacher trainer and the Kansas secretary of education — may still go to trial. But the decision’s unusually strong language suggests that the Kansas state government has the tougher case to make."

The Jerusalem Post

http://www.jpost.com/BDS-THREAT/US-Federal-court-suspends-Kansas-anti-BDS-law-540453

[The Beaver]

Colonel,

Rahm Emanuel: was in IDF and worked in both Clinton and Obama WH.
Pollard is also a dual national.

[turcopolier]

Randy

You probably know that he has no security clearance. He is the source of security clearances, not a recipient. pl

[turcopolier]

james

I am not resident in Canada and have no income derived from Canada, so I do not pay Canadian taxes. Neither the US nor Canada is beholden to Israel. We choose to act as though we are. pl

[JamesT]

Colonel

Yes, but our shirt model Prime Minister is not a neocon, and that is very important to me. Our borg news media attack him non stop. I will take a SJW pretty boy over a neocon any day of the week. I live in fear of another Harper, and I think that Justin is the only thing standing between us and another Likudnik government.

[J]

Colonel,

Too bad that Senator Cardin can't be forced to register himself as a Foreign Agent of a Foreign Power, and then be required to RESIGN his legislative position!

But...the Israeli Government has fine tuned their money laundering operation of U.S. Taxpayer Dollars into the coffers of individuals such as Senator Cardin. When will this circus of money laundered traveling Taxpayer Dollars ever end???

[Anna]

Educational: "U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley addresses AIPAC" + Schumer, Pence, and Bibi
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48906.htm
--What has happened to this country that the allegiance to Israel (by the US Congress-people!) is celebrated as a virtue?

[JW]

kooshy, yes hence my rhetorical question: Only one .. ?

[Babak Makkinejad]

Yes, Americans have paid a very very dear price for their love affair with Israel. And they are oblivious to it, for the most part. On this forum, every once in a while, one is regaled with discussions on the minutiae of Jews, their DNA etc; how far and deep has the secular Enlightenment-state has fallen.

[catherine]

Here's my list. Much too long to list and type out so using links.

All 275 house members who cosponsored the unconstitutional anti boycott bill for Israel

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1697/all-info#cosponsors-content

Plus the leaders of the US Congressional Israel Allies Caucus

http://www.israelallies.org/usa/member_directory/

Plus 88 Senators listed on this letter.

https://www.aipac.org/-/media/publications/policy-and-politics/aipac-analyses/issue-memos/2015/text-of-rounds-gillibrand-letter.pdf?elqTrackId=71FD281E81015C04EADDA6B8D8CFA471

Its easier to ask which politicians aren't owned by Israel. Only two I know of in congress-- Walter Jones and Betty McCollum.

[JW]

Lists. That list of legislators and appointed civil servants could be taken two ways. One is that they have a unique perspective that affords them a more informed position without necessarily a conflict of interest, and two, there are those who look more towards whatever is the brightest light. The question returns to one of individual influence, which does not seem in short supply, and I suspect that particular list is updated daily. Somewhere.

[kooshy]

I got to give it to you, still one is better than none

[Adrestia]

Dutch citizens with a Turkish or Moroccan parent automatically get these nationalities and are not allowed (by Turkish and Moroccan law) to loose this. It is allowed to have a single nationality but in these cases this does not apply.

Males born and raised in the Netherlands with Turkish nationality are still called up for military service, although this can be bought off after serving a couple of weeks and paying an amount to the Turkish government.

This is a never-ending loop that will continue into perpetuity with 4rd and further generations. It is a lever used by these foreign governments to influence European countries, which obviously is unwanted.

I've heard (but have never seen proof of it) that Morocco and Turkey were selected to strengthen the flanks of NATO by strengthening the bonds through temporary (which has become large permanent ethnic groups) laborers (btw, a lot of Berbers and Kurds!).

That being said, the last years I see a shift in the opinions of people from Turkey and Morocco which oppose their king and sultan. Even non-political Turks are against Erdogan and the Syrian policy. A couple of decades ago the support was much stronger. So the rooting in Europe is becoming stronger.

[JW]

Catherine, that's an impressive list.
The question could be posed of when this influence turns into recruitment. This was answered recently in Australia where an elected member of the Senate was asked to leave the premises consequent to him not only soliciting further donations from an existing Chinese donor, but also offering counter surveillance advice to same.

In either country, donation money is a significant conduit through which friendship flows. Without that, and favours in kind such as free travel and accommodation, much of this influence and potential recruiting, as happens on free tours, would be obliged to seek more difficult means.
Turning off the tap would require legislative change and you can spot the obvious stumbling block there. Australia is however in the process of outlawing some types of foreign / laundered political donations, but with noisy opposition from the laundries and their elected payees.

Going back to my question above, which US agency handles counterintelligence ? Have there been any prosecutions since Pollard in the 80's and two smaller ones in 2009 ?

[JW]

kooshy, I was astounded; only one :)

[catherine]

''The question could be posed of when this influence turns into recruitment.''..JW

Here's how they are recruited in the US congress.

https://www.democraticwhip.gov/content/hoyer-addresses-aipac-political-leadership-conference

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer addressed the AIPAC Political Leadership Conference on December 15, 2003

excerpts from speech…..

”And, as you know, I had the privilege of leading the largest congressional delegation in history to Israel in August.
This was my sixth trip to Israel, and my fifth as a member of Congress.

But for many of the 28 other Democrats in our delegation, this was the first time they had been there.

Let me say very clearly: as a member of the Democratic leadership and a long-time supporter of Israel, it is absolutely imperative that Members of Congress – especially our new members and those who have few Jews in their Congressional Districts – recognize the moral and strategic significance of the U.S.-Israel partnership.

Furthermore, it is imperative that Israel’s circle of friends in Congress include non-Jews, too. For the reality is this: Israel’s safety and security is not a Jewish/non-Jewish issue. It is an American national security issue.

There are some who believe that we must demonstrate more even-handedness in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.

I do not''

[Imagine]

This bears repeating: Freedom of speech/press is being strangled. U.S. tells U.N. it is not allowed to publish a report on Israel:
https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2017/03/31/israel-is-an-apartheid-state-even-if-the-un-report-has-been-withdrawn/

Report is partially based on a 2009 South African jurist study of Israel, which is summarized here (well worth reading):
https://www.kairosresponse.org/south_africa_report_icahd_1.html
cf http://www.icahdusa.org

[catherine]

''What has happened to this country that the allegiance to Israel (by the US Congress-people!) is celebrated as a virtue?''

Read these two books or either one and you will see how it happened. Warning...it make you furious so don't read at bedtime.

Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel 1st Edition
by Alison Weir

As this work demonstrates, these politicians were bombarded by a massive pro-Israel lobbying effort that ranged from well-funded and very public Zionist organizations to an "elitist secret society" whose members included Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.

AGAINST OUR BETTER JUDGMENT brings together meticulously sourced evidence to illuminate a reality that differs starkly from the prevailing narrative. It provides a clear view of the history that is key to understanding one of the most critically important political issues of our day

https://www.amazon.com/Against-Our-Better-Judgment-History/dp/149591092X

The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy – September 2, 2008
by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt

The Israel Lobby," by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, was one of the most controversial articles in recent memory. Originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006, it provoked both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo issue in America: the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy.
They describe the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel and argues that this support cannot be fully explained on either strategic or moral grounds. This exceptional relationship is due largely to the political influence of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction.

[Sid Finster]

I have seen the language you highlighted. Pretty milquetoast.

The text of the bill is public and why would the ACLU leave first amendment litigation to others? If not the ACLU, then who?

[catherine]

''Have there been any prosecutions since Pollard in the 80's and two smaller ones in 2009 ?''..JW

Are you talking about this one:

NASA employee Stewart Nozette who gave classified U.S. government information to “Israeli Aircraft,” also known as Israel Aerospace Industries.

Or this one...

Ben-Ami Kadish
The charges alleged that the Israeli consular official, identified in the indictment as "CC-1", gave Kadish lists of classified documents to obtain from the US Army's Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Centre at the Picatinny Arsenal in the state of New Jersey.
The documents included information about nuclear weapons, fighter jets and the US Patriot missile air defence system, prosecutors say

Or the AIPAC and Franklin, Rosen, and Weissman investigation....
http://prospect.org/article/mole-hunt

[Alaric]

I certainly hope for and will act towards the defeat of such a law.

That said, I would like to see them enforce such a law, if it became a law. I can't imagine a better way to turn the American public against Israel and Israeli interests/supporters in the US than to put someone away in jail for refusing to purchase Israeli-made goods. I bet a lot of kids of high school and college age support the boycott. Put them away in jail and you might just see some serious violence coming from the public.

AIPAC and Israel are their own worst enemies. Their tactics and "strategies" are heavy handed and poorly thought out. Remember there was no Hezbollah before Israel invaded Lebanon, no Iranians and few Russians in Syria before the neocons attempted to turn Syria into a Jihadist state and no palestinians fighting Israel until the chosen people made them homeless, stateless, cattle.

[Jony Kanuck]

Col,
For the record; Canada & Blighty are in thrall to the 'Jewish Nation' as deeply as the USA. Anti BDS legislation is already in place (tho untested) or on the order paper. Neither country has the piles of lucre or ordnance that the Izzies crave. The one bright spot is that younger Jews are turning away from Israel in disgust. So Bibby & co. are doubling down on the Christian Zionists, like Pence.

[Account Deleted]

Alaric

You are absolutely right. I do not expect BDS itself to change anything, but the Israeli/Israel lobby's (over)reaction to it will ultimately be self-defeating. Part of me wishes that the legislation would have passed unamended for exactly this reason. The more brazen the attempts at silencing all dissent, the greater will be the eventual reaction against it all.

I also think the now near-universal tactic of branding all who oppose Israel as antisemitic could result in a much more serious unintended consequence. Israel is effectively holding all Jews hostage via this policy. Antisemitism is a real issue to be taken very seriously and devaluing the very word in such a way is exceptionally dangerous. Sooner or later ordinary people so-accused will simply become immune to the term and treat its usage in all contexts as meaningless hasbara. Jews everywhere need to wake up to this danger & start distancing themselves from this policy before we lose the ability to describe real antisemites.