Dear Bobby Rush,
From the Boston Tea Party boycott to the Montgomery bus boycott to the current Chick-fil-A boycott, boycotts have always a powerful nonviolent tool of social movements and a fundamental part of our country’s progress. The right to engage in boycotts is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution and we must protect that right today.
As your constituent, I urge you to vote NO on the anti-boycott H.Res.246 — likely to come to vote before the August recess — and to cosponsor Rep. Omar, Tlaib, and Lewis’s H.Res.496, which supports our right to boycott.
The boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement is a non-violent human rights movement that originated in 2005 in order to pressure the state of Israel to respect the basic rights of the Palestinian people. The BDS movement uses nonviolent tactics to achieve three simple goals: ending the occupation, equal rights for Palestinians citizens of Israel, and implementing the right of Palestinian refugees in accordance with UN Resolution 194.
House Resolution 246 misrepresents the BDS movement to cast a false and negative light on this nonviolent movement for justice.
H.Res.496, on the other hand, affirms the history of nonviolent boycotts in the United States and the role they have played in moving the country forward. It is co-sponsored by Rep. John Lewis — a long-time civil rights leader and 32-year-long Congressmember known for his support for Israel. Having Rep. Lewis as part of this resolution sends a clear and direct statement that the right to boycott must be protected, regardless of one’s position on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Please cosponsor H.Res.496, and urge Speaker Pelosi not to bring H.Res.246 to a vote. If it does come to a vote, please vote against it.
Sincerely,
doug shaeffer