Congress Seeks to Hand Off Israel Boycott Fight to Trump

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USCPR Policy Director Josh Ruebner is quoted in Al-Monitor’s reporting on a new version of the Israel Anti-Boycott Act moving through Congress, which would empower the Trump administration to enforce its anti-BDS provisions.

“It would be bad enough if Congress passed a law to criminalize individuals who participate in boycotts for Palestinian rights,” Josh Ruebner, the policy director at the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, which supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, told Al-Monitor. “It’s even more concerning that Congress would now consider a version of this bill, which would allow the Trump administration to unilaterally write regulations.”

Ruebner argues that in addition to being an unconstitutional restriction on free speech, the new bill empowering the government to implement anti-boycott regulations is even more concerning given Trump administration officials’ past comments.