Maryland Becomes the Latest State to Make It Illegal to Protest Israel’s Occupation of Palestine

Mic.com quotes USCPR Executive Director Yousef Munayyer on the unconstitutionality of an anti-boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) executive order signed by Maryland governor Larry Hogan on October 23, 2017.

“Despite these clear warnings about the Orwellian and unconstitutional nature of such laws, Maryland governor Larry Hogan decided to take matters into his own hands and pass by fiat an anti-[boycott, divestment and sanctions] executive order that failed to get through the Maryland State Legislature,” Yousef Munayyer, the executive director of the United States Campaign for Palestinian Rights, said in an email.

The BDS movement aims to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine by boycotting Israeli products, divesting from investments in the Israel and supporting international sanctions against the Israeli state.

“Political boycotts are constitutionally permitted — and First Amendment protected — forms of expression,” Munayyer said. “Orders and laws, such as the one enacted today in Maryland, authorized the state to effectively discriminate against contractors based on this constitutionally protected expression.”

Read the article here.