FMEP Legislative Round-Up September 6, 2024

Resource

1. Bills, Resolutions (Things to Watch as Congress Returns)
2. Letters
3. Hearings
4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics
5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements

New from FMEP:

  • 9/17/24: New installment of Just Vision’s series – In Context: Briefings on Israel-Palestine, “In Context Briefing on Defending Dissent: Palestine, Freedom of Speech and the Future of Protest“, ft. Fadi AbuShammalah, Journalist from Gaza and Outreach Associate, Just Vision; Sabiya Ahamed, Staff Attorney, Palestine Legal; Lara Friedman, President, Foundation for Middle East Peace; Maria LaHood, Deputy Legal Director, Center for Constitutional Rights; Simone Zimmerman, Director of Strategic Communications & Outreach, Diaspora Alliance and co-founder, IfNotNow; amd Suhad Babaa (Moderator), President and Executive Director, Just Vision. “As we approach November’s historic election and a new semester begins on college campuses, all eyes are on the precarious state of American democracy. Top of mind for many are urgent questions about free speech, dissent and growing concerns surrounding the U.S.’s role in Israel-Palestine. Over the past year, those who criticize Israel’s conduct in Gaza have faced extreme repression, including expulsions from their universities, dismissal from employment, doxing and, at times, arrest and violence from police.  Join us on Tuesday, Sept 17 at 11:00 am ET / 6:00 pm Jerusalem time to learn more about growing repression of dissent on Israel-Palestine, a trend that has built over decades and escalated in the past year. From anti-boycott legislation to the recent arrests of student protestors, leading experts will examine how these actions impact American democracy and our right to collectively organize on a range of issues – from Palestinian rights to the environment, racial justice, reproductive rights and beyond – at such a critical juncture. Register here.” Cosponsored by: Just Vision, the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), Jewish Currents, Palestine Legal, the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP), Diaspora Alliance and Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR).

1. Bills & Resolutions (Things to Watch as Congress Returns…)

Punchbowl News 9/6/24: Scalise lays out House Republicans’ September plans – “Next week, the House will focus on cracking down on China. We wrote about this in detail on Monday.  But House Republicans are also planning several weeks’ worth of cultural war votes on what Scalise called “woke” ESG and DEI policies both in government agencies and financial institutions. Furthermore, Republicans will have legislation that addresses the BDS (boycott, divest and sanction) movement against Israel.” [To see what anti-BDS legislation is currently pending in this Congress, check out my database].

(TARGETING ESG) Politico 9/3/24: House GOP plans votes on anti-ESG, diversity bills [“The bills on the tentative agenda include legislation that would: Limit the types of disclosures the SEC can compel and revamp its authority over shareholder proposals; Impose new free speech requirements on universities and restrict accrediting agencies from requiring them to adopt political positions…”] This article links to (among other things), HR 7683, which was covered in the 3/22/24 edition of the Round-Up as follows:

  • (DEFENDING CAMPUS FREE SPEECH AS PRETEXT FOR ATTACKING DEI & “WOKE” FACULTY) HR 7683 (text):: Introduced 3/15/24 by Williams (R-NY) and Foxx (R-NC) and having 8 cosponsors (all Republicans) [as of 9/2/24, it now has 19 cosponsors, all GOP], the “Respecting the First Amendment on Campus Act.” Amended by and reported out of the Committee on Education and the Workforce 3/21/24 by a vote of 24 – 14. Also see: press release – Rep. Williams and Chairwoman Foxx Introduce Bill to Protect Free Speech at Colleges and Universities. Williams and Foxx thoughtfully include a Fact Sheet explaining the bill, which talks about the “hostile takeover of postsecondary education by political activists, woke faculty, and partisan administrators has established a dangerous trend that threatens students’ constitutionally guaranteed rights and the ability of campuses to maintain a civil educational environment free of political bias and agendas” and asserts that “The forced commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is exploding.” So why is this in the Round-Up? Because: As the Round-Up has been covering in detail, Foxx and the Education and the Workforce Committee have in recent months been carrying out an energetic campaign targeting various universities for alleged antisemitism, connected to campus free speech and protest related to Palestine rights and the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. That campaign is clearly designed to promote the agenda embodied in HR 7693, but because they have made that campaign ostensibly about (supposed) antisemitism, many Democrats in Congress have eagerly joined the cause.

(TARGETING FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS) Jewish organizations including the Anti-Defamation League are working to mobilize grassroots pressure on Congress to pass S. 3580/HR 7735 — covered in the 1/19/24 edition of the Round-Up & the 3/22/24 edition of the Round-Up:

  • (USING CLAIMS OF ANTISEMITISM TO QUASH PALESTINE VOICES/SOLIDARITY ON US CAMPUSES) S. 3580: Introduced 1/11/24 (not covered previously in the Round-Up) by Cassidy (R-LA) and Fetterman (D-CA), the “Protecting Students on Campus Act of 2024.” Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions [after 8 months having attracted a total, as of 9/4/24, of 7 cosponsors, 4 Democrats & 3 Republicans]. Also see: Bipartisan bill aims to fight antisemitism on campus by fortifying civil rights complaint system (CNN 1/11/24 — “A bipartisan Senate bill introduced Thursday could make it easier for students to file civil rights complaints over antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses and to hold those schools accountable for protecting students.”)
  • (TARGETING ACADEMIA FOR PRO-PALESTINE STUDENTS/PROTEST) HR 7735 [bill text]: Introduced 3/20/24 by Manning (D-NC) and Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), “To require institutions of higher education participating in Federal student aid programs to share information about title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including a link to the webpage of the Office for Civil Rights where an individual can submit a complaint regarding discrimination in violation of such title, and for other purposes,” aka the “Protecting Students on Campus Act of 2024” [after 6 months having attracted a total, as of 9/4/24, of 6 cosponsors, 5 Democrats & 1 Republican]. Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. NOTE: this is the House companion to S. 3580, introduced 1/11/23 by Cassidy (R-LA) and Fetterman (D-PA). Also see: press release – Manning, Chavez-DeRemer Introduce Bipartisan Protecting Students on Campus Act; Lawmakers introduce House companion to Cassidy-Fetterman campus antisemitism bill (Jewish Insider); Bipartisan bill introduced to make reporting campus antisemitism, and discrimination easier (Jerusalem Post)

(CHALLENGING MORE AID TO ISRAEL) Nation of Change 9/2/24: Bernie Sanders leads charge to block $20 billion arms sale to Israel [“Senator Bernie Sanders pledges to introduce a resolution to halt a massive U.S. arms deal with Israel, responding to widespread criticism of American complicity in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.“]

2. Letters

3. Hearings & Markups

September 12, 2024: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing entitled, Anti-NGO Laws and Other Tools of Democratic Repression.  Witnesses will be: Douglas Rutzen, International Center for Not-For-Profit Law; Yaqiu Wang, Freedom House; and Eka Gigauri, Transparency International Georgia.

September 10, 2024: (Rescheduled) The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing entitled, The Fall of ESG: Scrutinizing the Failed Use of Environmental, Social, and Governance Standards and the Influence of Proxy Advisors. Scheduled witnesses (as of 9/6/24 at 2pm ET) are: Charles Crain, Vice President of Domestic Policy, National Association of Manufacturers; Tim Doyle, Founder and Principal, Doyle Strategies; and Michael Frerichs, Treasurer, State of Illinois (for some context on Frerichs: 10/12/24: Frerichs announces $10 million state investment in Israel Bonds; 5/10/23: Statement Before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability For the Hearing Entitled “ESG Part I: An Examination of Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices with Attorneys General”)  NOTE: Claims that ESG is antisemitic and cover for BDS, based on the argument that, in effect, any adverse business decision or advice related to Israel can ONLY be a form of antisemitism or BDS, have been a key weapon (if not THE key weapon) used to attack ESG.  And notably, much of the anti-ESG legislation in various US states (introduced and in some cases passed) has been modeled on anti-BDS legislation. Also see: Bloomberg Law 8/29/24: Anti-ESG Bills, Priorities Stall in Congress’ Fourth Quarter (1)

4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Politics/Elex

5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements

US Policy re: Israel’s War on Gaza/West Bank

  • Jayapal (D-WA) 9/6/24: Jayapal Statement on U.S. Citizen Killed in West Bank [“U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) released the following statement after Aysenur Eygi, a recent University of Washington graduate, was killed while protesting occupation in the West Bank: ‘My heart goes out to Aysenur’s family, friends, and loved ones. This is a terrible tragedy, and I extend my condolences to all those in mourning today. My office is actively working to gather more information on the events that led to her death. ‘I am very troubled by the reports that she was killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. The Netanyahu government has done nothing to stop settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank, often encouraged by right-wing ministers of the Netanyahu government. The killing of an American citizen is a terrible proof point in this senseless war of rising tensions in the region.’ Aysenur Eygi was a U.S. citizen who graduated from the University of Washington in 2024.“]
  • Akbar Shahid Ahmed/Huffington Post 9/6/24: X-post – Van Hollen Statement on American Citizen Killed in the West Bank [“…To date, the US has not received satisfactory responses from the Netanyahu Government about 2 other Americans killed in the West Bank] since Oct. 7 & the Biden Admin has not been doing enough to pursue justice”] – NOTE: even this statement refrains from saying WHO killed these American citizens…
  • McCaul (R-TX) 9/5/24: McCaul Calls on the Biden-Harris Administration to Roll Out New Sanctions Against Hamas
  • Statements & Some posts re: Death of 6 Israeli hostages (does not include the many, many social media post from MoCs on this) — Cardin (D-MD), Coons (D-DE), Duckworth (D-IL), Durbin (D-IL), Ernst (R-IA), Hoyer (D-MD), Johnson (R-LA), McCollum (D-MN), Meeks (D-NY), Nunn (R-IA), Schakowsky (D-IL), Schakowsky (D-IL), Scott (D-VA), Scott (R-SC), Schumer (D-NY), Stefanik (R-NY), Tonko (D-NY), Turner (R-OH), Wilson (R-SC)
  • Statements re: continuing huge numbers of Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza, and escalating IDF operations in the West Bank, including killing of civilians and massive destruction – none.
  • Statements re: Netanyahu speech this week invoking river-to-see language to describe the state of Israel, and his speech using maps that literally erase the existence of Palestinians anywhere between the river and the sea [except for Gaza], and making clear the intention to retain permanent control of much if not all of Gaza. Also re:  Netanyahu statements/decisions making clear that he is actively blocking any ceasefire/hostage agreement (reportedly as such in every Israel media outlet) — none.
  • Rogers (R-AL) 8/30/24: Rogers Statement on USAID IG Report on Gaza Pier Operation

Targeting Academia/Free Speech

  • Mondoweiss 9/5/24: Contrived charges of antisemitism are the new ‘Red Scare’
    How an evidence-free smear is being used to suppress those fighting for justice in Palestine.
  • Johnson (R-LA) 9/5/24: Facebook post in response to Meta determining that “river to the sea” is not hate speech – “Big tech has no issues censoring conservative viewpoints online but when it comes to banning explicit pro-Terrorist hate speech calling for the destruction of Israel, they determine this rhetoric is okay. The double standard couldn’t be clearer.” NOTE: Johnson did not post anything about Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech this week in which he described Israel as follows: “It goes from the river. The river is right here. That’s the Jordan River. To the sea, the Mediterranean Sea,” accompanied by maps that literally erased/eliminated Palestinians within that entire geographic area.
  • Fetterman (D-PA) 9/4/24: X-post in response to Meta determining that “river to the sea” is not hate speech  – “Fuck that. It’s blatant antisemitic hate speech calling for the elimination of Israel from the map.” NOTE: Fetterman did not post anything about Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech this week in which he described Israel as follows: “It goes from the river. The river is right here. That’s the Jordan River. To the sea, the Mediterranean Sea,” accompanied by maps that literally erased/eliminated Palestinians within that entire geographic area.
  • Scott (R-SC) 9/4/24: X-post – “New school year, same ignorant, antisemitic protests. I hope one day these students will be embarrassed about siding with terrorists.” [Linked to article, Masked anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University demonstrate as students check in for first day of classes (Fox News 9/3/24)]
  • Washington Examiner 9/3/24: Elise Stefanik threatens funds to colleges as anti-Israel campus protests resume [“’House Republicans are demanding higher education take more deliberate action to ensure Jewish students and faculty are protected,’ Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), House GOP chairwoman, told the Washington Examiner in a statement. ‘With students returning to campus, it has never been more critical that NO taxpayer dollars go to colleges or universities that have enabled antisemitism to take root.’”]
  • Johnson (R-LA) 9/3/24: X-post – “It is the first day of class at Columbia University and the pro-Terrorist, antisemitic mob is already back.  The Biden-Harris Administration should condemn this mob immediately.“
  • Fox News 9/3/24: GOP leaders vow ‘action’ as Columbia University swarmed by anti-Israel agitators [“GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik vows to use ‘every tool at our disposal to demand immediate action from Columbia’“] Also see Facebook post from House Speaker Johnson (R-LA) 9/5/24 sharing this article and stating: “There is no place for antisemitic mobs to be running amok on our college campuses. House Republicans are committed to ensuring we hold all parties accountable for allowing these Hamas sympathizers to wreak chaos and threaten the lives of Jewish students.”

Continued Ramping of Pressure on Dems to Pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act

As reported in the 8/15/24 edition of the Round-Up, recent weeks/months  have seen a ramping up of pressure on the Senate, and specifically on Sen. Schumer (D-NY) to pass the massively controversial Antisemitism Awareness Act. And “massively controversial” is a self-evidently objective description of this legislation, given the outpouring of concerns/objections/opposition – from across the political spectrum – that followed House passage of the AAA earlier this year. As a reminder, this bill, which AIPAC and others have been trying to get Congress to pass for years, would enact into law and enforce the IHRA definition of antisemitism, including its examples. Why do they want to pass the IHRA definition so badly? Because thanks to those examples, the IHRA definition shifts the focus from combating hatred/threats/discrimination/violence against Jews because they are Jews, to delegitimizing, suppressing, and even criminalizing criticism/activism/opinions challenging the state of Israel and the political ideology of Zionism. See:

Other stuff

  • Jewish Insider 9/6/24: Will the U.S. try to extradite Khaled Meshaal from its ally Qatar? [“Multiple Republican lawmakers who’ve been critical of Qatar said they support efforts to ensure that Qatar turns Mershaal over for trial in the United States. Some also said the indictments were long overdue.” Goes on to quote Budd (R-NC), D’Esposito (R-NY), Lawler (R-NY), Mike Waltz (R-FL), Scott (R-FL), plus one Democrat – Stevens (D-MI).]
  • Max Cohen, Punchbowl News 9/5/24: X-post – “New: Sen. Grassley releases new details on potential Iran-backed assassination attempts of top US politicians. Per FBI docs, Iran-backed plotters discussed potentially targeting Trump, Biden and Nikki Haley as revenge for Soleimani’s death>>>” [NOTE: x-post links to Grassley webpage that doesn’t exist or no longer exists; searching Grassley’s website using terms embedded in that broken link does not turn up anything]. Cohen’s X-post was re-posted by Sen. Ernst (R-IA) with her own comment, “Iran needs to face consequences. My PUNISH Act will enforce maximum sanctions and hold them accountable.“
  • Reason Magazine 9/3/24: Should Airliners Be Forced To Fly Through War Zones? [“Rep. Ritchie Torres (D–N.Y.) claims that airlines are engaging in discrimination and enabling price gouging by canceling flights to the Middle East without government permission.“]