The US Congress, cheered on by the powerful Israeli lobby in Washington, is waging a war on Palestinians and their supporters. In the process, they are attempting to demolish the very core of American values – the First Amendment.

The build-up to this war began when the Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) declared in its 2017 Lobbying Agenda that criminalizing the boycott of Israel is a top priority.

The Congress, which has historically proven subservient to the Israeli government and its lobbies, enthusiastically embraced AIPAC’s efforts. This resulted in a Senate Bill (S.720) – also known as the “Anti-Israel Boycott Act” – which aims to ban the boycott of Israel and its illegal Jewish settlements in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank.

The Bill has the support of 43 Senators and 234 House members and was drafted mostly by AIPAC itself. Although the Congress has habitually backed Israel and condemned Palestinians - and any politician or organization that dared recognize Palestinian rights, this time it is going too far, jeopardizing the very basic rights of its own constituencies.

Read the full piece here.