What Is Next for the Right to Boycott in America?

Thursday
March 2, 2023

Since 2015, 34 states have passed laws punishing boycotts of Israel in an effort to silence those advocating for Palestinian rights. Beginning in 2021, Republicans began to introduce copy-cat laws, taking aim at boycotts of the fossil fuels and firearms industries—and, most recently, targeting those organizing for transgender rights, abortion access, and workplace equity. Last week, the Supreme Court announced that it will not hear the case of Alan Leveritt, the publisher of the Arkansas Times who petitioned the court to reaffirm the right to boycott, and one of the subjects of the award-winning documentary Boycott. What does this announcement mean and where do we go from here?

Join Alan Leveritt and his attorney from the ACLU, Brian Hauss, along with Boycott protagonists Bahia Amawi, a speech therapist and plaintiff from Texas, and Mikkel Jordahl, an attorney and plaintiff from Arizona for a timely conversation on what’s next for the right to boycott in America. Dima Khalidi, a lawyer and the Executive Director of Palestine Legal; Lara Friedman, a researcher and the President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace; Suhad Babaa, Just Vision’s Executive Director; and Julia Bacha, director of the film Boycott will also join the briefing, as we mark the worldwide online release of the film.

Cosponsored by the Institute for Middle East Understanding, Jewish Currents, and Just Vision.