šŗšøā Everything You Need to Know About the US Anti-Boycott Law (H.R. 867)
A bipartisan bill to punish Americans for boycotting Israel just got pulledāhereās what happened and why it matters.
A sweeping bill that would have punished Americans for boycotting Israel has been pulled from Congress after fierce opposition. The International Governmental Organization (IGO) Anti-Boycott Act (H.R. 867) aimed to criminalize support for international boycotts of Israelāincluding UN-backed campaigns.
The consequences? Up to $1 million in fines and 20 years in prison. Just for refusing to do business with companies complicit in apartheid.
But the public fought back.
š§Æ Unexpected Allies: Trumpās Base Blocks the Bill
It wasnāt just progressives who raised alarms. Some of the loudest opposition came from Trump-aligned Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie. Their argument? It violated Americansā free speech.
"Americans have the right to boycott. Penalizing this risks free speech," said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.
Even right-wing influencers like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon slammed the bill. Their message resonated: Free speech is non-negotiableāeven when it challenges powerful allies.
This rare alliance between progressives and the far-right demonstrated that support for Palestinian rights and the right to protest transcends political lines.
šµšø A Win for the BDS Movement
At its core, the bill was a direct attack on the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for nonviolent pressure on Israel to end its violations of international law.
The bill sought to expand the 2018 Export Control Reform Act by including international governmental organizations (IGOs)ālike the United Nationsāunder anti-boycott laws. That meant if an IGO called for divestment from companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements, Americans who followed suit could face jail.
This would have criminalized acts of conscience and solidarity with Palestinian human rights, and set a dangerous precedent for targeting social movements.
Rights groups like CAIR condemned it as unconstitutional. The ACLU and experts like those cited by the Foundation for Middle East Peace have long raised concerns about anti-BDS bills, warning they violate the First Amendment and could be used to suppress dissent far beyond Israel-related activism.
This latest effort wasnāt the first. Previous iterations like H.R. 3016 triedāand failedāto criminalize international boycott support. The pattern is clear: these bills keep coming back, repackaged and reworded, but with the same core missionāto silence critics of Israeli policy.
š§ The Bigger Picture: Chilling Effect on Activism
While H.R. 867 is off the table, it reveals a broader playbook. Legislators are attempting to weaponize trade laws to silence dissent and shield allies like Israel from public accountability.
Had it passed, this bill could have:
- Intimidated activists into silence
- Set a precedent for criminalizing protests on any foreign policy issue
- Paved the way for federal censorship of global justice movements
And letās be real: if theyāre testing this now, theyāll likely try again.
š® Whatās Next: Stay Loud, Stay Ready
The bill is goneāfor now. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are still looking for ways to stifle the movement for Palestinian liberation.
Future bills could be sneakier, smaller, or tied to unrelated issues. The fight to protect our rights is far from over. Thatās why we need to:
- š Watch Congress closely
- š² Share this info far and wide
- š£ Organize locally and nationally
š¾ Join the Movement: Download the Boycat App
Weāve seen what collective action can do. Letās build on it.
š Boycat helps you:
- Track anti-BDS companies
- Support ethical alternatives
- Stay up to date on laws threatening your rights
This is about more than burgers and bills. Itās about justice.