IMEU Institute for Middle East Understanding
A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that a Kansas law designed to punish people who boycott Israel is an unconstitutional denial of free speech. The ruling is a significant victory for free speech rights because the global campaign to criminalize, or otherwise legally outlaw, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement has been spreading rapidly in numerous political and academic centers in the U.S.
on January 31, 2018
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Kansas law barring state contractors from participating in boycotts against Israel, saying the state law violates their free speech rights. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree wrote in his decision that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the "First Amendment protects the right to participate in a boycott like the one punished by the Kansas law."
on January 30, 2018
Videos
A Palestinian-owned bakery with a social justice edge. Loved by the community and widely celebrated. Attacked by Breitbart and right-wing Israel supporters. Reem's California is standing strong to provide locally-sourced food that brings freedom seekers of all stripes together.
on November 24, 2017
In a further escalation of the backlash against the anti-occupation nonprofit B'Tselem after it addressed the UN Security Council, the chairman of the coalition said Friday that he will seek to have the citizenship of the group's CEO revoked.
on October 21, 2016
Amid concerns about academic freedom, UC Berkeley has reinstated a student-led course on Palestine a week after administrators cancelled the class. Jewish activists had argued the 1-credit "DeCal" class promotes anti-Semitism and had a political agenda.
on September 21, 2016
In recent months, a number of states have passed laws or taken other official actions to punish companies that participate in boycotts against Israel. California soon may do the same. But if it does, it will be making a mistake. You don’t have to support the so-called Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to be troubled when state governments in this country penalize...
on July 5, 2016
Jana Tamimi, a 10-year-old journalist-in-the-making from the village of Nabi Saleh in the occupied Palestinian territory, asked me during the latest conference of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights held in Ramallah last April: “Given the terrible Israeli threats stacked against BDS lately, how can we keep the hope that it gives us alive?”
on June 30, 2016
New Jersey became the latest state to pass legislation against the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement yesterday. By a 69-3 vote, the State Assembly passed a bill to prohibit pension fund investment in pro-boycott companies. The legislation had passed the State Senate in May by a 39-0 vote.
on June 28, 2016
The New Jersey state legislature is expected to pass legislation on Monday that will prevent the state from investing in companies that participate in the "boycott, divestment, and sanctions" movement against Israel, joining a growing number of states that already have similar regulations in place.
on June 27, 2016