April 19th, 20190I awakened early Wednesday to listen to a voicemail message from Omar Barghouti, a leading member of the Palestinian movement to Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) Israel. In the message, Omar told me that he was at Ben Gurion Airport and despite holding a valid U.S. visa and a boarding pass for his flight to Washington, D.C., the...
April 12th, 20190Palestinian activist Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli financial interests, has been denied entry to the United States after airline staff informed him he wouldn't be flying.
Barghouti was at Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday when he was told by U.S....
December 21st, 20180WASHINGTON — The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) has been gaining steam over the past several years as activists worldwide have sought to put pressure on an Israeli government that has continuously acted with impunity against Palestinians in occupied territories.
But a pending bill titled the Israel Anti-Boycott Act...
December 9th, 20180WASHINGTON — Boycott movements have long been an effective tool for protesters, but a new bill being pushed through Congress aims to penalize people speaking in favor of one of the most popular worldwide boycott movements today: The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) is among...
December 9th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — Due in large part to the abundance of pro-Israel lobbying from organizations like AIPAC, Congressmen and Congresswomen in the United States have largely avoided pledging any support for Palestinians, vocal or otherwise.
But newly-elected Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from the 13th District,...
October 19th, 20180ANN ARBOR – The BDS movement has become a source for discomfort on several levels, including American institutions in academia.
After University of Michigan associate professor of American culture John Cheney-Lippold refused to write a recommendation letter for a student who wanted to study in Israel, citing his support for BDS,...
September 22nd, 20180The re-opening of a seven-year-old Department of Education (DOE) complaint against Rutgers University, alleging anti-Semitism, perpetuates a false stereotype that Israel represents all Jews in America.
The 2011 event hosted by Palestinian rights groups, which include Jewish students, featured speeches by Nakba and Holocaust...
July 6th, 20180
After trying and failing to pass the so-called “Anti-Semitism Awareness Act” in the last legislative session, supporters have once again submitted a bill that, if passed by Congress, will dramatically curb free speech and academic inquiry on college campuses.
As I argued in my testimony to the House Judiciary Committee last...
July 6th, 20180WEST BANK — A Prominent Jewish American activist, Ariel Gold, was denied entry into Israel on Sunday, July 1, over her activism in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Gold was prevented from entering Israel when she landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport Sunday afternoon. She was held until 11 p.m....
June 19th, 20180As the Arab and Muslim worlds were ending a month of blessed fasting, observing the most holy month in Islam and getting ready to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, there isn’t much to celebrate there— a region engulfed in bloodshed and complicated conflicts among brothers and neighbors.
In Gaza, a real massacre engulfing the besieged Strip...
June 6th, 20181On February 20, I embarked on a global book tour that has, thus far, taken me to eight nations. The main theme of all my talks in various cultural, academic and media platforms was the pressing need to refocus the discussion on Palestine on the struggle, aspirations and history of the Palestinian people.
But, interacting with hundreds...
June 4th, 20180SAN FRANCISCO — Three years ago, the San Francisco Unified School District placed a hold on a proposal to grant the Arab Resource and Organizing Committee (AROC) a contract to teach “cultural competency training” and Arabic language classes in city public schools.
At the May 22 district school board meeting and to the dismay of...
March 24th, 20170JERUSALEM — A law barring foreigners from entering Israel if they back boycotts against the country is causing alarm among liberal American Jews and others who perceive an attempt to suppress critical political opinion.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government has long campaigned against the Palestinian-led Boycott,...
