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This non-binding resolution condemns the U.N. Human Rights Council’s efforts to document and seek accountability for Israel’s international legal violations. The resolution is in response to a Human Rights Council report collecting information on companies, including 22 U.S. companies, contributing to Israel’s illegal settlements. The resolution urges Congress to support the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S 720/HR 1697), which would extend anti-boycott laws to reach international organizations, such as the United Nations. 

S 2940, titled the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2018, is an antisemitism redefinition bill that directs the U.S. Department of Education to consider the distorted definition of antisemitism found in the 2010 US State Department fact sheet on “Defining Anti-Semitism,” including its contemporary examples related to Israel, when investigating complaints of antisemitism on campuses. The State Department definition and its problematic contemporary examples falsely conflate political criticism of Israel with antisemitism. For example, under the State Department definition, “multilateral organizations focusing on Israel only for peace or human rights investigations” may be considered evidence of antisemitic intent. Advocates and civil liberties groups have raised serious concerns about the bill’s chilling effects on constitutionally protected political expression. Substantially similar versions of this bill were introduced and failed to pass in 2016 (S 10, HR 6421). Related legislation: HR 5924.

HR 5924, titled the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2018, is an antisemitism redefinition bill that directs the U.S. Department of Education to consider the distorted definition of antisemitism found in the 2010 US State Department fact sheet on “Defining Anti-Semitism,” including its contemporary examples related to Israel, when investigating complaints of antisemitism on campuses. The State Department definition and its problematic contemporary examples falsely conflate political criticism of Israel with antisemitism. For example, under the State Department definition, “multilateral organizations focusing on Israel only for peace or human rights investigations” may be considered evidence of antisemitic intent. Advocates and civil liberties groups have raised serious concerns about the bill’s chilling effects on constitutionally protected political expression. Substantially similar versions of this bill were introduced and failed to pass in 2016 (S 10, HR 6421). Related legislation: S 2940.

HR 6095, titled the Export Administration Anti-Discrimination Act, is an anti-boycott bill that imposes criminal sanctions on individuals and entities that boycott countries friendly to the United States or territories controlled by such countries. There is no requirement (as in the Export Administration Act of 1979 that focused on the Arab League boycott) that the boycott be in response to a call to action by a foreign country or any other organization. Individuals who intentionally violate the anti-boycott provisions face fines up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to 10 years. The bill also prohibits furnishing information about business relationships with countries subject to boycotts and participating in academic boycotts. It creates a private right of action allowing those harmed by prohibited boycotts to seek damages in federal court.

S1 includes the Combating BDS Act of 2019, an anti-boycott bill that purports to authorize state and local legislation prohibiting state investments in or state contracts with entities that engage in boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns for Palestinian rights. The bill claims that such measures are not preempted by federal law and defines BDS activities to include boycotts of Israel and persons doing business in Israel or its illegal settlements. Several courts, however, have blocked state anti-boycott laws over concerns that they suppress constitutionally protected political expression. The Senate passed S 1 in February 2019. An identical bill in the House stalled, despite efforts by House Republicans to force a vote. Previous versions of the Combating BDS Act (HR 2856, S 170, HR 4514, S 2531) failed after activists, media, and civil liberties groups raised constitutional concerns. Related legislation: HR 336.

HR 336 includes the Combating BDS Act of 2019, an anti-boycott bill that purports to authorize state and local legislation prohibiting state investments in or state contracts with entities that engage in boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns for Palestinian rights. The bill claims that such measures are not preempted by federal law and defines BDS activities to include boycotts of Israel and persons doing business in Israel or its illegal settlements. Several courts, however, have blocked state anti-boycott laws over concerns that they suppress constitutionally protected political expression. The Senate passed an identical version (S 1) in February 2019. House Republicans have made multiple attempts to force a vote on HR 336 to no avail. Previous versions of the Combating BDS Act (HR 2856, S 170, HR 4514, S 2531) failed after activists, media, and civil liberties groups raised constitutional concerns. Related legislation: S 1. 

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.

S 852 is an antisemitism redefinition bill titled the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2019. This bill directs the U.S. Department of Education to consider the definition of antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), including the contemporary examples related to Israel, when investigating complaints of antisemitism on campuses. The IHRA definition and the problematic contemporary examples falsely conflate political criticism of Israel with antisemitism and are so broad and vague they could encompass virtually all criticism of Israel and Israeli government policies. The bill adds no new legal protections for Jewish students, but will likely be used to justify federal investigations into Palestine activism on campuses. Substantially similar versions of this bill were introduced and failed to pass in 2016 (S 10, HR 6421) and 2018 (S 2940, HR 5924). In December 2019, Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO 13899) adopting this distorted definition. Related legislation: HR 4009 (2019).

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.