The Jewish Elite and the Threat to Liberty
A vote on H.R. 867 was set to take place in the House on Tuesday, May 6. Introduced by Representative Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, and Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, the bill would have amended the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to include international governmental organizations (IGOs) in existing anti-boycott laws. The penalties under the legislation would have included civil penalties, criminal fines of up to $1 million, and imprisonment of up to 20 years for supporting calls by IGOs to boycott Israel. The fiercest House critics of the bill—Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)—rightly argued that the bill would have (further) abrogated the First Amendment by criminalizing Americans’ speech. No doubt the uproar about the bill and Greene’s post on X derailed it, and thus a modicum of free speech dodged a bullet, at least for the time being.
Thirty-eight states have anti-BDS laws on the books and 15 other states are seeking to follow suit. What these laws might amount to was demonstrated recently, when Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, sent a scathing letter to the city of San Marcos, warning the city not to flout Texas’ anti-BDS law.
Israel is a stalwart ally of the United States and a friend to Texas…I have repeatedly made clear that Texas will not tolerate antisemitism. Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies [and presumably anti-Semitic]. Over a year ago, following Hamas’s cowardly attack and campus disruptions openly celebrating terrorism, I issued an executive order addressing antisemitism in higher education. I have proudly signed legislation prohibiting government entities from supporting efforts to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel. That remains the law here.
San Marcos, a city of just 70,000 people, identified that its residents were sending $4.43 million tax dollars to Israel every year. The city council drafted a resolution calling for the reallocation of those funds toward domestic priorities. (The city council also proposed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.) Clearly, according to Abbott, such fiduciary discretion is not allowed where Israel is concerned. Abbott threatened to nullify all city contracts and to withhold state grants to the city for breaking Texas anti-BDS law. Abbott has not explained how refusing to fund Israel with taxpayer funds is a BDS issue. According to Abbott, towns and cities in Texas are not allowed to cut funding to Israel, even if it comes from tax dollars. That is, Texans are being coerced to support the state of Israel, and criticism of Israel by government officials is not allowed in Texas.