Anti-boycott

HR 6940, titled the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, is an anti-boycott bill that criminalizes participation in boycotts of Israel, singling out international efforts to hold Israel accountable for its illegal settlements. The bill amends the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) of 2018, a successor to the Export Administration Act of 1979 that targeted the Arab League boycott, to prohibit U.S. entities from complying with or supporting boycotts of Israel fostered or imposed by international governmental organizations. This prohibition includes “furnishing information” for the U.N. Human Rights Council’s database of entities contributing to Israel’s illegal settlements. Violations may be punishable by severe fines, up to $300,000 in civil cases and up to $1 million in criminal cases, though the possibility of prison time included in previous iterations has been removed. 

The bill conflates coercive commercial boycotts—like the Arab League boycott where U.S. companies were forced to boycott Israel as a condition of doing business with other foreign parties—with constitutionally protected political expression in support of Palestinian rights. 

This bill is identical to HR 5595, which was defeated in 2021. Similar bills failed to pass in the last Congress after multiple revisions (S 720, HR 1697).

SB 1250 amends Arizona’s anti-boycott law (HB 2617 as amended by SB 1167) to include public universities and community colleges in the definition of “public entities,” that are  prohibited from investing in or entering into contracts with companies that boycott Israel or territories occupied by Israel. A federal court blocked enforcement of HB 2617 in September 2018, finding that the law would likely violate the First Amendment. Subsequent amendments removed the plaintiffs challenging the law from its reach by limiting its scope to entities with more than 10 employees and contracts more than $100,000. The law continues to require a written certification for state contractors as well as the creation of a blacklist of companies in which state retirement plans and public entities are prohibited from investing.  According to Mark Swenson, the Deputy State Treasurer of Arizona, who testified when the bill was introduced, the amendment was prompted by Ben and Jerry’s 2021 announcement that it would end sales of its ice cream in Occupied Palestinian Territory. In response to Ben and Jerry’s announcement, relying on the state’s anti-boycott law, Arizona withdrew $143 million worth of state investments from Unilever, Ben and Jerry’s parent company. Elected officials sought to close a “gap in public policy” by requiring public universities to be subject to the same anti-boycott law. The governor signed the bill in March 2022, and it went into effect in September 2022. 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with companies, including nonprofits, that boycott Israel or its illegal settlements. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in such boycotts. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $250,000 and contractors with fewer than 10 employees. A similar bill targeting boycotts for Palestinian rights was introduced in 2018 and failed to pass. Related bills: HB 2050, SB 1993.

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with companies, including nonprofits, that boycott Israel or its illegal settlements. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in such boycotts. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $250,000 and contractors with fewer than 10 employees. A similar bill targeting boycotts for Palestinian rights was introduced in 2018 and failed to pass. A companion bill (SB 1993) passed and will go into effect in July 2022. Related bill: HB 2136. 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with companies, including nonprofits, that boycott Israel or its illegal settlements. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in such boycotts. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $250,000 and contractors with fewer than 10 employees. A similar bill targeting boycotts for Palestinian rights was introduced in 2018 and failed to pass. Related bills: HB 2050, HB 2136. The bill passed and went into effect in July 2022.

This anti-boycott bill requires state contractors to provide a written certification that they will not engage in boycotts of Israel or its illegal settlements. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $10,000. 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with entities, including non-profits, that boycott Israel or entities doing business in or with Israel. The prohibition extends to boycotts of entities “authorized, licensed, or organized to do business by the State of Israel,” which would encompass boycotts of Israel’s illegal settlements. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in boycotts of Israel. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $100,000 and contractors that have fewer than 10 full time employees. 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with companies, including non-profits, that boycott Israel or entities doing business in or with Israel. The prohibition extends to boycotts of entities “authorized by, licensed by, or organized under the laws of the State of Israel,” which would encompass boycotts of Israel’s illegal settlements. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in boycotts of Israel. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $100,000 and contractors that have fewer than 10 full time employees. 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with and state investment—both direct and indirect—in companies that boycott Israel. The bill calls for the creation of a blacklist of restricted companies from which the state must divest and in which it cannot directly invest. The bill excludes indirect investments where it is unlikely that more than 0.05% of the fund’s total investments is invested in blacklisted companies. The bill also prohibits state contracts of any value with entities that boycott Israel, requiring the commissioner of taxation and finance to confirm that the company is not engaged in prohibited boycotts before accepting a bid. This bill expands the scope of New York’s executive order prohibiting state investment in companies that boycott Israel.  

This amendment to the 2021 COVID Relief Bill, introduced in the House Rules Committee, would have prohibited funding in the bill from going to “any nongovernmental organization, contractor, or grantee that promotes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movements against the State of Israel.” The amendment was voted down by the Committee.