To give a sense of how integrated the Israeli lobby is into US law and society, two of my friends have an anti-BDS clause baked into their lease. They could legally be evicted for boycotting Israel

Utah holding out but just because they hate the Jews.

In 2017, the governors of all fifty U.S. states signed a statement describing their opposition to the BDS movement, stating that the BDS movement’s “focus on the Jewish State raises serious questions about its motivations and intentions” and that the governors “strongly condemn the BDS movement as incompatible with the values of our states and our country.”[14]

We're not doing ok

Surprise, it's never not always just basically a population map .jpeg

just to clarify, at least in Ohio the anti-BDS law means state agencies can't use contracted services from anti-BDS companies. which is still bullshit, but it doesnt stop private citizens from doing stuff.

BDS is an existential threat because it threatens to popularize the truth that Israel is an apartheid state. Proponents of the occupation will cite the end of apartheid South Africa as a worst case scenario. Hamas is less so for the inverse reason that the violent opposition (as long as it’s manageable violence) provides reason for the occupation to continue

When the excesses of the settler colonial project are so egregious, the only way they can guarantee support is by painting even the most milquetoast consumer activism as indistinguishable from terrorism. When you want to kill children, anyone who says "hey, I don't like how you killed those children, I don't think I'll buy your soda pop," must be on the way to joining Hezbollah.

Talk about Russian/Chinese influence ops that nobody has ever provided proof for: Reasonable centrist take.

Talk about a large, well funded, publicly known organization that explicitly and openly lobbies for Israel: antisemitic conspiracy theory.

The Nazi Seizure of Power is a somewhat obscure book, but it’s great because it tells the story of a single small town in Germany, and their experience before, during, and immediately after the Nazis came to power. Two things that stood out to me when reading it:

1. Just how much folks in the KPD (and to be fair, at least in this town, the SPD) fought and fought hard against the Nazis before they took power.

2. Once the Nazis did take power, if you tried to fight against them, if you’re caught you’re gone. Maybe jail. Maybe killed. But any resistance was dealt with pretty harshly.

Incorrect, the real answer is always "somehow (magically, after a lifetime of propaganda) I have been coached to identify with the oppressor rather than deal with dissonance of understanding it would absolutely be me under that boot today."

How the fuck do you make a list of "extra evil" countries and not start and end with the USA & Israel, this really destroys the credibility of the entire enterprise right out of the gate

It would be very funny to one day order some parts for work and see a pop up explaining that despite being a domestic corporation due to beliefs they are choosing to describe as religious (GospelofStMarx.jpeg) they will only ship their products to China, Vietnam, Laos, and the DPRK though.

!update me whenever, or not, that's fine too!

Honestly I haven’t done the investigation to say. It very well could be an unenforceable part of their lease. But the south is notorious for insane anti-tenant legislation so I wouldn’t be surprised. My state famously banned the passing of rent control legislation so good luck running your local socialist candidate for mayor they can’t do anything even if they win

"Welcome to our show, 'Wait - Is That Actually Even Legal,' where we take you through a normal day of going about a normal day anywhere in the southern United States of America."

"With us today us our cohost, Steven Williamson, local tradesman, city council member, and union shop steward, whose entire family has been found tied up in the trunks of various cars at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, a fun fact which absolutely does not immediately also broadcast to any of our listeners from the South or Midwest exactly where Steven's family, on average, falls under the Fitzpatrick scale quantifying non melanoma lifetime skin cancer risk. "

They probably figure it's extremely unlikely to come up. Unless you have:

1. A tenant who boycotts Israel
2. And tells their landlord about it
3. And the landlord wants to get rid of them
4. And the landlord can't come up with a more conventional excuse
5. And the tenant knows their rights and has the resources to fight

Nobody would likely challenge it.

What are you gonna do tough guy? Huh? Go to the Lawyer Store and buy the best Lawyer?

One state (Arkansas) has a law that a rental doesn't even have to be livable, so I believe this. Like literally,in Arkansas, you could rent a unit that has not heat, running water, or roof. And if you sign the lease, you have to pay

The point is to silence outspoken opposition. Silent, individualized product boycotts are virtually useless. Keeping the message that Israel is an apartheid state based on oppression out of the mainstream is the point of anti-BDS legislation

Imagine being a Tory P.M. and having the audacity to get in front of parliament and pretend to be outraged at the entirely predictable actions of a country that your own intelligence services founded within the bounds of your own living memory

Like, no, the genocide is fine but calling me a vain , silly muppet with stupid hair is absolutely beyond the pale sir and I will have my satisfaction in this lifetime or the next

to own and operate a business in Texas you must swear fealty to Israel

that's fucking wild

It’s more about preventing people from actively taking part in the BDS movement than the specifics of a boycott. The goal is to dissuade people from vocally supporting Palestine and from taking part in activism efforts