The Stealth Campaign to Use U.S. Law to Support Settlements: Taking the Battle to the States - Updated/Expanded Table

 As of April 1, 2017, the up-to-date version of this table is found here

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.

In 2016, these efforts delivered results, with a number of states adopting 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. In addition to conflating settlements and Israel, much of this legislation is patently unconstitutional. This effort is expected to continue into 2017.

APN opposes legislation that conflates Israel and the settlements, whether explicitly (i.e., legislative language defining Israel to mean “Israel and territories controlled by Israel” or similar formulas), or implicitly (e.g., by applying legislation not simply to Israel or companies in Israel, but to companies incorporated in Israel) and also opposes legislation that seeks to outlaw boycotts or other forms of legal, non-violent, Constitutionally protected activism against Israel. For more on APN's position, please see here. For more on APN's positions and work in general, as relates to our position on BDS and boycotts of settlements/occupation, see here.

In order to shine a bright light on this stealth legislative trend, as well as to inform and empower activists to challenge it, in January 2015 we created this table, which is updated regularly to include any new developments. At the end of 2016, we expanded the scope of the table to include any blacklists or certification documents produced and promulgated by states as a result of such legislation (or information about such documents being prepared).