Letter: Do Utah’s politicians favor Israel’s oppression over Americans’ right to free speech?

We recently met with Sen. Orrin Hatch’s office to ask that he withdraw his co-sponsorship of the Israel Anti-Boycott Act. This bill criminalizes Americans who voice support for campaigns to boycott businesses profiting from Israel’s illegal military occupation of Palestinian territories.

Boycotts have been used in human rights campaigns for decades, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott (which brought the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to prominence) and the boycott of businesses supporting the apartheid regime in South Africa. In 1982 the Supreme Court upheld boycotts as constitutionally protected political speech (NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware).

We received a letter from Sen. Hatch affirming his support of Israel as an ally in America’s foreign military adventures but ignoring our concern about his legislation’s stifling of Americans’ constitutional right to free speech.

All of Utah’s congressional delegates have co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act except Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. John Curtis (to their credit). What’s up with Utah politicians protecting a foreign government? Apparently their priority is supporting Israel’s military oppression of the Palestinian people over protecting our most fundamental American value and constitutional right: freedom of speech!

Bob Brister and Frances ReMillard, Salt Lake City