Resolution

HRes 72 is a non-binding resolution conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism and condemns both. The resolution falsely characterizes boycotts for Palestinian rights as antisemitic, claiming campus advocacy has exposed Jewish students to “rampant anti-Semitism.” The resolution’s preamble lists violent acts of antisemitism committed by white supremacists in Charlottesville and Pittsburgh alongside several clauses attacking critics of Israel and BDS supporters, including Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. The resolution cites the IHRA redefinition of antisemitism, though notably excludes its examples related to criticism of Israel.

HRes 246 is a non-binding resolution opposing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights. The resolution mischaracterizes grassroots efforts seeking justice for Palestinians as anti-peace and accuses the BDS movement of promoting “collective guilt, mass punishment, and group isolation”—charges that international accountability bodies have made against Israel for its actual treatment of Palestinians. The United Nations and the ICRC have found that Israel’s 12-year blockade of Gaza constitutes “collective punishment,” and a 2019 U.N. investigation concluded that Israeli forces had killed or gravely injured hundreds of Palestinian civilian protestors, including children, in besieged Gaza during the Great March of Return despite the fact that they posed no imminent threat. Though it does not bear the force of law, the resolution’s language is a broad condemnation of individuals who boycott for human rights, raising concerns that it will reinforce and legitimize other legislative attacks on protected speech, including anti-boycott laws. Related legislation: SRes 120.

SRes 120 is a non-binding resolution opposing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights. The resolution mischaracterizes grassroots efforts seeking justice for Palestinians as destructive to peace and accuses the BDS movement of promoting “collective guilt, mass punishment, and group isolation”—charges that human rights bodies have made against Israel for its actual treatment of Palestinians. The United Nations and the ICRC have found that Israel’s 12-year blockade of Gaza constitutes “collective punishment,” and a 2019 U.N. investigation concluded that Israeli forces had killed or gravely injured hundreds of Palestinian civilian protestors, including children, in besieged Gaza during the Great March of Return despite the fact that they posed no imminent threat. Related legislation: HRes 246.

HRes 496 is a non-binding resolution that affirms the constitutionally protected right to boycott for civil and human rights. The resolution emphasizes the long history of the use by Americans of boycotts to address injustices and calls on lawmakers and leaders to oppose “unconstitutional legislative efforts to limit the use of boycotts to further civil rights at home and abroad.” This affirmative resolution stands in marked contrast to legislative efforts at the federal and state level to suppress advocacy for Palestinian rights. 

HRes 764 is a non-binding resolution expressing support for Trump’s executive order (EO 13899) that adopted a distorted definition of antisemitism. The resolution also references HRes 246, which opposed boycotts for Palestinian rights, as an example of “the United States unwavering support for the Jewish people and strong condemnation of anti-Semitism”—explicitly and falsely linking opposition to boycotts for justice with efforts to combat anti-Jewish hatred.

HRes 782 is a non-binding resolution that encourages public schools to teach about the “historic importance of the creation of the Jewish State of Israel in 1948” as part of broader curricula around the history of antisemitism and the Holocaust. The resolution’s preambulatory language claims that campus advocacy involving boycotts for Palestinian rights has exposed Jewish students to “rampant anti-Semitism.” The resolution makes this claim after ten examples of antisemitic violence, assaults, graffiti, threats, and killings—implicitly and falsely linking acts motivated by anti-Jewish hatred with student advocacy for Palestinian human rights.

In addition, the curricula called for in the resolution would likely not include how at least 75 percent of Palestinians became refugees due to Israel’s founding, and that Israel has since barred them from returning. This act of ethnic cleansing and forced exile is why some activists oppose Israel’s existence – a stance that other legislative efforts seek to paint as antisemitic using a distorted definition of antisemitism.

This non-binding resolution rejects boycotts for Palestinian rights, specifically focusing on university campuses and academic boycotts. It affirms support for Israel and opposes “efforts to assault the legitimacy of Israel as the sovereign homeland of the Jewish people.”

This non-binding senate resolution rejects boycotts for Palestinian rights, specifically focusing on university campuses and academic boycotts. It affirms support for Israel and opposes “efforts to assault the legitimacy of Israel as the sovereign homeland of the Jewish people.”

HCR 8004 is a non-binding resolution affirming Israel’s right to exist and South Dakota’s relationship with Israel. The resolution falsely claims that boycotts for Palestinian rights are one of the main drivers of antisemitism and have resulted in intimidation of Jewish students on college campuses. The resolution declares that Israel “is neither an attacking force or an occupier of the lands of others.” Related legislation: HCR 6005.

HJ 4 is a joint resolution rejecting BDS and calling on state agencies to take into consideration a company’s participation in boycotts of Israel in awarding grants or contracts or making investments.