A bicameral bill was introduced in the House and Senate that seeks to restrict criticism of Israel at the expense of our First Amendment protected right to free speech. Entitled the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2018, the bill does not actually counteract the real, disturbing rise in anti-Semitism but rather focuses on suppressing speech critical of Israel. Please call and e-mail your member of Congress and urge them to oppose the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act and support free speech.

On June 25, 2018, DCIP and AFSC will host a congressional briefing examining how persistent grave human rights violations, systemic impunity, discrimination, and recent U.S. policy decisions, like relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, affect the lives of Palestinian children growing up under military occupation. Tell your lawmaker to attend this congressional briefing and take action to protect Palestinian rights.

The Senate will vote on the confirmation of Kenneth Marcus today at 12:30pm. Marcus has been nominated for the position of Assistant Secretary of the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education. His appointment would be a huge setback for civil rights protections in our academic environment. Marcus has been a longtime advocate for the adoption of an overly-broad, political definition of anti-Semitism, which includes criticism of the state of Israel. This is just one of the many ways his appointment would undermine civil rights protections in academia.

The Trump Administration is threatening to shut down the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) General Delegation office in Washington, DC, in the false premise that the Palestinians are making unilateral moves that undermine the possibility of peace. In reality, it’s Israel, through continued occupation and expansion of settlements, that is undermining the possibility of peace. Tell Congress that the attack on the Palestinian diplomatic mission in the US is misguided.