Monday, 6 June 2016

NY Gov. Cuomo signs “unconstitutional, McCarthyite” pro-Israel exec. order punishing BDS boycott movement

Andrew Cuomo pushed through discriminatory policy to punish groups that boycott Israel for Palestinian human rights




NY Gov. Cuomo signs "unconstitutional, McCarthyite" pro-Israel exec. order punishing BDS boycott movementA Palestinian solidarity protest in Times Square, New York City on Oct. 18, 2015 (Credit: Ben Norton)
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a pro-Israel executive order on Sunday that will punish people and groups who support a boycott of Israel on behalf of Palestinian human rights.
Legal experts have described this long pending anti-boycott policy as “21st-century McCarthyism,” warning it would effectively create a discriminatory “blacklist” of Palestinian human rights advocates who endorse boycotts like those organized in order to combat U.S.-backed apartheid in South Africa.
Prominent legal organizations including the Center for Constitutional Rights, National Lawyers Guild, the New York Civil Liberties Union and Palestine Legal say these politically motivated anti-boycott policies constitute an unconstitutional attack on the freedom of speech.
The New York legislature has unsuccessfully tried to push through anti-boycott legislation for months, amid intense pressure by pro-Israel lobby groups. Now it appears that Gov. Cuomo has decided to instead circumvent the legal process and implement the policy on his own.
“I am signing an Executive Order that says very clearly we are against the BDS movement,” Cuomo tweeted on Sunday.
“If you boycott Israel, New York will boycott you,” he added.
“We made a unity trip to Israel because they were under attack. Today, Israel is under attack on a different level,” he tweeted before.
Cuomo then announced that he would be marching in a pro-Israel parade in New York City.
After marching in the pro-Israel parade, Gov. Cuomo signed the executive order “in solidarity with Israel.”
Cuomo subsequently retweeted Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer, who applauded the New York governor for his “strong stance against the BDS movement.”
BDS refers to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, an international grassroots movement that promotes nonviolent economic means to pressure Israel to comply with international law and respect Palestinian rights. It was called for by Palestinian civil society in 2005.
The executive order states that “the State of New York will not permit its own investment activity to further the BDS campaign in any way, shape or form, whether directly or indirectly” and adds that “the State of New York unequivocally rejects the BDS campaign and stands firmly with Israel.”
It refers to Israel as “a critical and invaluable ally of the United States” and notes “the State of New York and Israel enjoy a special historical relationship and share a commonly forged cultural bond.”
The full text of the executive order follows below.

“Unconstitutional” and “McCarthyite”

In states throughout the U.S., dozens of bills are pending that would effectively create a blacklist of and punish people and groups who support BDS.
“It’s frightening to think there could be New York state employees scouring the internet for pro-BDS Facebook posts, tweets and news articles, and blacklisting individuals based on their political viewpoints,” Rahul Saksena, a staff attorney at non-profit advocacy organization Palestine Legal, told Salon in January.
“It’s 21st century McCarthyism,” he added, noting government policies that punish citizens who endorse boycotts “are disturbing attempts to punish and chill constitutionally protected speech.”
“The government cannot punish individuals and entities because of their speech and political views,” Saksena said. “We believe that under a court’s scrutiny, these bills would be found unconstitutional.”
In May, an anti-boycott bill pending in the New York senate was pulled, after advocates from New York’s Freedom to Boycott Coalition delivered a letter signed by more than 100 organizations to the Albany offices of all New York state assembly and senate members.
The letter expressed strong opposition to pending bills that would create “unconstitutional blacklists,” adding, “State legislators pushing this McCarthyite, anti-democratic and unconstitutional legislation are out of touch with shifting opinion among growing numbers of New Yorkers and Americans.”
In a statement accompanying the letter, Melanie Trimble, the director of the New York Civil Liberties Union Capital Region chapter, stressed that government policy “punishing New Yorkers for engaging in political speech degrades our state’s values and traditions and violates the Constitution.”

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http://www.salon.com/2016/06/05/ny_gov_cuomo_signing_unconstitutional_mccarthyite_pro_israel_exec_order_punishing_bds_boycott_movement/

posted by Satish Sharma at 05:09

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