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Gillibrand rethinks banning boycotts
Jul 28, 2017 12:04 am
Ryan Grim reports in The Intercept that New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is reconsidering her support for anti-free speech legislation, while Chuck Schumer has announced no qualms with the bill. Both senators are co-sponsors of the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, which would make it a felony for Americans to support the international boycott against Israel. A few activists boycott the country to protest Israel's decades-old occupation of Palestine, and free speech is a current right under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Gillibrand faced opposition for her initial support for the measure at a town hall meeting in New York last weekend, and said that she was reviewing the bill after hearing criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union. “I do share your concerns about the current government of Israel,” she told an activist with Jewish Voices for Peace. Schumer has not wavered yet in his support of the legislation. In 2016 New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo barred all state agencies from doing business with companies and organizations that support an Israel boycott. Read the full story in The Intercept.