1. Bills, Resolutions, and Letters
2. Settlements=Israel, new twist:  Legislating Labeling of West Bank Goods
3. APN on the Cotton Bill
4. Hearings
5. On the Record

(published 2/1/16 at LobeLog)

Attention is finally focusing on a bill pending in Congress that would make it U.S. policy to defend and support Israeli settlements. Known as the Customs Bill, this legislation regulates U.S. trade relations with foreign countries and includes the pro-settlement language in a provision that, ostensibly, is about defending the state of Israel against boycotts. It is part of a broader campaign, waged in Washington and in state capitals across the country, that seeks to undermine growing grassroots support for the boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel and reverse Washington’s longstanding opposition to settlements in the occupied territories.

Back in July, Congress passed a similar provision as part of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill. The State Department responded with a statement rejecting the pro-settlements language, noting that “[e]very U.S. administration since 1967—Democrat and Republican alike—has opposed Israeli settlement activity beyond the 1967 lines.” The administration’s rejection provoked a harsh critique by one Washington Post blogger who writes on both legal issues and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The blogger, Eugene Kontorovich, testified on the BDS movement and ways to combat it before the Subcommittee on National Security of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last July. Now, with the Customs Bill in the spotlight and likely to soon come before President Obama, the arguments presented in his critique—which apply equally to the settlements-related provision in the Customs Bill—bear close scrutiny.

In 2014, opponents of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel began promoting legislation in various U.S. states denouncing the BDS movement.

In 2015, these efforts shifted/expanded to mirror efforts in the U.S. Congress to hijack concerns about BDS against Israel in order to pass legislation mandating that Israeli settlements be treated, in effect, as part of sovereign Israel.

At the outset of 2016, it is already clear that these efforts are continuing and building. Indeed, the clear trend at the state-level is moving away from anti-BDS resolutions in favor of binding legislation to – in effect – have states boycott, divest from, and sanction companies that engage in BDS against Israel, or that in any concrete way differentiate between Israel and the settlements.

This table  -- which will be updated regularly and which is based on data drawn from the websites of the various state legislatures -- is intended to help people understand and follow what is happening at the state level. 

(Do you know about legislation missing from the table? Please let me know - LFriedman@peacenow.org).

1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters
2. Hearings
3. On the Record

1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters
2. Hearings
3. On the Record

1. Omnibus: DOD Appropriations
2. Omnibus: ForOps Approps
3. Omnibus: Other stuff

NOTE: FOR INFORMATION ON ALL OTHER LEGISLATION, HEARINGS, ETC, SEE PART 1 OF THIS WEEK’S ROUND-UP

1. New Bills, Resolutions, and Letters
2. Settlements = Israel, the Congressional Campaign Continues
3. New Iran Battles in Congress – What to Expect in 2016
4. Hearings
5. On the Record

NOTE: FOR DETAILS OF THE FY16 OMNIBUS, SEE PART 2 OF THIS WEEK’S ROUND-UP

Today, APN sent the following message to foreign policy staffers in the offices of members of the House of Representatives:

On behalf of Americans for Peace Now (APN), America’s veteran grassroots, Jewish, Zionist, pro-peace organization and the sister organization to the Israeli Peace Now movement (Shalom Achshav), I’m writing to urge your boss to refuse to cosponsor H. Res. 567 – a resolution that would reverse almost 5 decades of U.S. policy with respect to Israeli settlements – and to oppose this resolution if it is brought to a vote.

1. Bills & Resolutions
2. Hearings
3. On the Record

NOTE: Apologies for the erratic Round-Up schedule. Travel etc. Next edition will be mid-week next week.

1. Bills & Resolutions
2. Settlements = Israel: 2015 in Review
3. Hearings
4. On the Record