Dear Representative,

I am writing to ask you to vote AGAINST a bill when it comes to the floor: H.R. 336 Strengthening
America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019.

Our Founding Fathers warned us against forming entangling alliances with foreign countries because
such alliances end up dragging America into wars and conflicts that are not in our own interests. HR
336 further entrenches America in the business of Israel's geopolitical conflicts and guarantees that
all of Israel's enemies, including terrorist groups, will perceive justification to attack Americans. HR
336 makes Americans less safe.

As you know, America is in deep financial trouble and is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. On
the other hand, the state of Israel is one of the top nations in the world to consistently run budget
surpluses. It makes no financial sense for hard working American citizens to be forced to send
billions of dollars a year to Israel to support their military - especially when the entire world is united
in acknowledgement and condemnation of Israel's brutal repression of the native Palestinian
population.

Perhaps most importantly, HR 336 is an assault on the most basic, fundamental liberty enjoyed by
Americans: freedom of speech. The US Supreme Court has ruled that how we choose to use our
money is an exercise of our free speech rights. HR 336 encourages states to punish citizens for
nothing more than the free exercise of speech related to their civic and moral convictions.

This bill is unconstitutional because it encourages states and local governments to enact laws that
punish individuals and companies for exercising their right to engage in boycotts by denying denying
them the jobs and opportunities to procure government contracts. Congress CANNOT encourage
state and local governments to enact unconstitutional laws, yet that is exactly what HR 336
does. American citizens may not be denied government contracts over their choice to engage in
boycotts. Laws of the kind being encouraged by HR 336 have repeatedly been deemed
unconstitutional.

Three federal district judges have confirmed that such laws violate freedom of speech. In January
of 2018, US District Judge Daniel Crabtree wrote in his decision: “The Kansas Law’s legislative
history reveals that its goal is to undermine the message of those participating in a boycott of Israel.
This is either viewpoint discrimination against the opinion that Israel mistreats Palestinians or
subject matter discrimination on the topic of Israel. Both are impermissible goals under the First
Amendment.” And, in September of 2018, US District Judge Diane Humetewa wrote in her decision:
“A restriction of one’s ability to participate in collective calls to oppose Israel unquestionably burdens
the protected expression of companies wishing to engage in such a boycott.”

And, on April 26, 2019, Judge Robert L. Pitman of the Western District of Texas also ruled that anti-
BDS state laws are uncontitutional. Judge Pitman wrote that the Texas law was intended to
“suppress unpopular ideas” and “manipulate the public debate through coercion”, which he ruled is
a violation of freedom of speech.

It is my right - and yours - to express our displeasure with the illegal or immoral actions of other
parties by refusing to do business with them. I'm not sure how you, or any other legislator, can
stand by HR 336 when the right to boycott is as fundamentally American as can be.
Throughout the 1760s, in response to heavy-handed and unjust actions by the British Parliament
(OUR government at that time), the American colonists engaged in a decade-long series of
economic boycotts of British goods. These boycotts culminated in the famous Boston Tea
Party. And yet, the Congress of 2019 has replaced the British Parliament as the body seeking to
crush the freedom of Americans to boycott. Just as the British politicians of the 1760s felt they were
justified in taking away the rights of Americans to boycott in response to an oppressive government,
I'm sure that the American politicians of 2019 have their justifications. But tyranny is tyranny. The
efforts by the British to prohibit Americans from boycotting were wrong then, as HR 336 is wrong
now.

Boycotts continued to be utilized throughout American history to promote justice. There were
boycotts of cotton to protest slavery. There were boycotts of public transportation to protest
segregation. Boycotts of South African products helped to end apartheid. Today, many Americans
support the Boycott, Divest & Sanction movement (BDS) as a protest against unjust treatment of
the Palestinian people. In 2005 alone, more than 170 organizations called for boycotts of Israel -
including notable Jewish-American groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace and the Israeli group
Boycott from Within. There have been more than 250 BDS victories in America already, as
cataloged by the USCPR, which demonstrates widespread American support for the BDS movement.

I'm asking you to stand against this encroachment upon our freedom of speech. I recognize that
the Israeli lobby is powerful and it isn't easy to stand up to them when so many of your colleagues
are under their control. But you were not elected to defend Israel. You were elected to defend the
US Constitution - which protects my rights from the tyranny of a popular majority. I respectfully call
on you to oppose HR 336 with all your influence. You must choose whether you will play the role of
a British tyrant trying to crush the rights of Americans - or if you will play the role of a Patriot who
defends freedom of speech, including the right to boycott without government
recrimination. Should you choose to support HR 336, your support for this anti-American bill will not
be forgotten when you next face a primary challenger.

Thank-you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,