Palestine Legal Warns Against Escalating Efforts to Weaponize Terror Laws and Suppress Advocacy for Palestinian Rights

In recent weeks, as encampments and other protests on campuses have gained national attention and a seven-month-long US-backed genocide continues unabated in Palestine, anti-Palestinian lawmakers, groups, and institutional actors have intensified their racist and repressive targeting of the Palestine solidarity movement in the US from multiple angles. This is a desperate effort to criminalize and shut down a growing movement calling for Palestinian freedom.

Anti-Palestinian organizations have filed a spate of meritless civil lawsuits attempting to further extend already expansive US anti-terrorism laws against humanitarian organizations, student organizers, and grassroots advocacy groups. These suits make sprawling and unfounded claims, similar to those roundly defeated in a frivolous case against the advocacy group the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. They attempt to smear Palestinian human rights defenders, humanitarian organizations and campus activists by arguing that groups and individuals, through vigorous advocacy for Palestinian rights and freedom, are providing “material support” to organizations designated by the U.S. Government as “terrorist”. 

These lawsuits represent a grave threat to First Amendment-protected political expression and association and to getting desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestine. They are racist attacks focused on isolating Palestinians by criminalizing advocacy and humanitarian aid, as well as distracting and draining resources away from efforts to end Israel’s US-backed genocide and advance Palestinian freedom. They also rely on dangerously sprawling legal theories that would have sweeping consequences far beyond the Palestine movement for grassroots social justice movements that dissent from the status quo.

At the same time, anti-Palestinian lawmakers and groups are launching an all-out offensive against the movement, using misinformation and smears that project criminality onto protests. Right wing lawmakers are initiating McCarthyite measures, including fishing expeditions against grassroots groups and foundations, and congressional hearings that serve as political theater to browbeat institutional leaders who are all too willing to comply by undermining free speech and academic freedom. A bill was passed through the House of Representatives that would—if signed into law—empower a single government bureaucrat to revoke the non-profit status of any organization he or she deems to be “terror-supporting.” Another bill - similar versions of which have been introduced and failed multiple times - seeks to codify into anti-discrimination law the distorted and politicized IHRA definition of antisemitism, which conflates speech critical of Israel with anti-Jewish bigotry, and is almost exclusively used to censor and punish criticism of Israel. 

These measures are part of Israel and its allies’ concerted efforts to crush the solidarity movement that Palestine Legal has long been documenting. The use of antiterrorism laws against the movement is particularly dangerous given the stigmatizing effect they have, even when the accusations have no merit. As our recent briefing paper demonstrates, these laws have, from their inception, been designed and used to target Palestinian movements, and anti-Palestinian groups are now aiming them at what should be protected First Amendment speech, association, and assembly activities for Palestinian rights.  

As an organization long reporting on and challenging a “Palestine Exception” in the law, we warn that, despite unprecedented popular solidarity with Palestinian rights, anti-Palestinian rhetoric and repression are quickly escalating. This repression will likely have long-standing consequences for all justice movements and constitutional, civil and human rights writ large. This repression and lawfare, together with parallels in attacks on Indigenous, environmental, and racial justice movements, must be defeated if we are to preserve our right to dissent. 

We call on all lawyers and people of conscience to step up and robustly defend Palestinians and their allies who are challenging the deep dehumanization that has taken hold and facilitated this genocide. Our collective rights to organize for justice and prevent a descent into fascism depend on it.