Governors have significant authority in issuing executive orders, and in many situations, they do so to circumvent legislative roadblocks. But executive orders cannot wish away the Constitution.
Read MoreJune 21, 2016, New York – Today, human rights and civil liberties groups filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request seeking documents relating to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s recent executive order that will blacklist institutions and companies that abide by Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns related to Israeli human rights abuses and violations of international law. Under the order, New York State money will be divested from those institutions unless and until they drop their support of the constitutionally-protected movement for Palestinian rights.
Read MoreSB 8017 is an unequivocally unconstitutional attack on First Amendment freedoms that strikes at New York’s college students. Boycotts to effect political, social or economic change are a constitutionally-protected form of speech, association and assembly, and have a long history of being used successfully to address injustice.
Read MorePalestine Legal joins with the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) to express serious concern about the University of California Irvine’s treatment of student protestors.
On May 18, students at UC Irvine (UCI) gathered outside a film screening featuring a panel of Israeli soldiers, to protest police brutality and draw connections between state violence at home and abroad. The coalition included the Black Student Union, Muslim Student Union, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, La Resilencia Trans/Queer de UCI, American Indian Student Association, Asian Pacific Student Association, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Students for Justice in Palestine.
Read MoreExecutive Order No. 157 is a blatantly unconstitutional attack on freedom of speech and establishes a dangerous precedent reminiscent of McCarthyism. It is unprecedented for a state to create a list of entities that support or engage in a First Amendment protected political activity, and deny them financial benefits because of it. Boycotts are a constitutionally-protected form of speech, association and assembly, and have a long history of being used successfully to address injustice and demand political change.
Read MoreIn a written decision issued last Friday, a City University of New York (CUNY) disciplinary committee exonerated Sarah Aly and Thomas DeAngelis, two Brooklyn College students charged with violating the “Henderson Rules” for taking part in a February 16 “mic check” at a meeting of faculty council. The students, seniors Sarah Aly and Thomas DeAngelis, appeared at a hearing to face harsh measures for the mic check, including possible expulsion. The day after the mic check, the college’s president and provost sent an email to the entire college community, falsely stating that the group of students had made “anti-Jewish comments” at the meeting. Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) represented the two students at the hearing and are urging Brooklyn College President Gould to apologize.
Read MoreAs a growing number of local unions endorse Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) in solidarity with Palestinian workers, the United Auto Workers (UAW) Public Review Board last week affirmed a decision to nullify the BDS resolution adopted by members of Local 2865.
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