Special guest MEERA SHAH, Senior Staff Attorney for Palestine Legal, updates us about their work to defend our right to boycott. She is joined by a panel of UMKR activists from across the US who have worked to oppose these laws within their states.
Meera Shah oversees Palestine Legal’s advocacy work on free speech, academic freedom, and the right to boycott. An attorney in New York City, she has devoted her career to advancing human rights and social justice for marginalized communities. Before law school, she spent two years living in Palestine, studying Arabic and working as a journalist during the Second Intifada. Watch our webinar to learn more about this ongoing struggle for free speech and ot learn how we can oppose and reverse these laws. You can also learn more on our website.
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LINKS AND INFORMATION FROM THE WEBINAR
Palestine Legal main website: https://palestinelegal.org/
Palestine Legal interactive map for anti-BDS legislation across the US: https://legislation.palestinelegal.org/
See how these laws have been challenged: https://legislation.palestinelegal.org/legal-challenges-to-anti-boycott-laws/
Freedom is the Future, from the Invest in Justice Coalitoin
https://www.freedomfuture.org/
Resolution submitted to the United Methodist Church General Conference 2020/2022: “Protecting the Right to Peacefully Address Injustice”
See it here
UMKR's collected video and print resources on the Right to Boycott: See them here
Check ROAR magazine for an upcoming article by Rifat Kassis of Kairos Palestine and Global Kairos for Justice: "Criminalizing Boycott is Wrong." https://roarmag.org/
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United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
Protecting the Right to Boycott
Wednesday, 21 April 2021
10am PT, 1pm ET (US, Canada) / 6pm UTC / 8pm Palestine
Our right to protest injustice is under attack.
According to the U.S. Supreme Court, boycotts are protected by the right to free speech in the First Amendment to the U.S. constitution.
But in recent years, the Israel Lobby in the United States, which includes Christian Zionist groups, has succeeded in passing "anti-BDS" laws in 30 states that would limit our right to protest injustice against Palestinians through economic means. These laws punish, penalize or stigmatize Americans who boycott or divest to express their opposition to Israel's violations of Palestinian human rights.
A number of these states' laws have already been overturned following court challenges - after all, these laws clearly violate the U.S. constitution.
See Palestine Legal's interactive website – https://legislation.palestinelegal.org – to learn more about legislation targeting advocacy for Palestinian rights state by state across the US.
Boycotts have been used for decades by our denomination and other faith-based and civil society groups. In fact, The United Methodist Church has called for a global boycott of products from the illegal Israeli settlements.
SEE THE VIDEO ON THIS PAGE ⬇︎
Below the video, see useful links that were shared during the webinar.