Israel detains American student for her alleged boycott support

originally posted by: Grimpachi
Well, it just goes to prove Israel is spying on the US and making lists of our citizens. Pretty sure she wasn't on the flight passing out boycot information.

Interesting insight, something I don't think anyone would be surprised of.

It did say in the article that she had deleted her social media accounts prior to going, and that raised their eyebrows.

Not sure to what extent they digged deeper.

a reply to: seeker1963

apparently not if she was running a business or conducting trade and attempt a boycott the office of anitboycott compliance comes into play apparently ,tis been a law overseen by the commerce department since 1977 www.bis.doc.gov... apparently each violation can come with a 50k fine and from 5-10 years in jail. not exactly sure how this is legal but its been on the books since the 1970s

ntiboycott Laws: During the mid-1970's the United States adopted two laws that seek to counteract the participation of U.S. citizens in other nation's economic boycotts or embargoes. These "antiboycott" laws are the 1977 amendments to the Export Administration Act (EAA) and the Ribicoff Amendment to the 1976 Tax Reform Act (TRA). While these laws share a common purpose, there are distinctions in their administration. Objectives: The antiboycott laws were adopted to encourage, and in specified cases, require U.S. firms to refuse to participate in foreign boycotts that the United States does not sanction. They have the effect of preventing U.S. firms from being used to implement foreign policies of other nations which run counter to U.S. policy. Primary Impact: The Arab League boycott of Israel is the principal foreign economic boycott that U.S. companies must be concerned with today. The antiboycott laws, however, apply to all boycotts imposed by foreign countries that are unsanctioned by the United States. Who Is Covered by the Laws? The antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) apply to the activities of U.S. persons in the interstate or foreign commerce of the United States. The term "U.S. person" includes all individuals, corporations and unincorporated associations resident in the United States, including the permanent domestic affiliates of foreign concerns. U.S. persons also include U.S. citizens abroad (except when they reside abroad and are employed by non-U.S. persons) and the controlled in fact affiliates of domestic concerns. The test for "controlled in fact" is the ability to establish the general policies or to control the day to day operations of the foreign affiliate. The scope of the EAR, as defined by Section 8 of the EAA, is limited to actions taken with intent to comply with, further, or support an unsanctioned foreign boycott. What do the Laws Prohibit? Conduct that may be penalized under the TRA and/or prohibited under the EAR includes: Agreements to refuse or actual refusal to do business with or in Israel or with blacklisted companies. Agreements to discriminate or actual discrimination against other persons based on race, religion, sex, national origin or nationality. Agreements to furnish or actual furnishing of information about business relationships with or in Israel or with blacklisted companies. Agreements to furnish or actual furnishing of information about the race, religion, sex, or national origin of another person. Implementing letters of credit containing prohibited boycott terms or conditions. The TRA does not "prohibit" conduct, but denies tax benefits ("penalizes") for certain types of boycott-related agreements.

a reply to: RalagaNarHallas


Sounds unconstitutional to me. The bottom line though is, if you go to a foreign country with the intent to stir up snip? Don't expect me to feel sorry for you if that country decides to give you a spanking for being a disrespectful ass.

If I would step foot out of my country to visit another, I would show respect and be on my best behavior as to NOT get locked up! But that's just me....


What happened to the good ole days where when you visited another country it was to have fun, enjoy their food and culture? Now it's let's go and PROTEST! What the hell is wrong with people?

a reply to: seeker1963

...and if you want to learn about what's going on, you travel around and speak to people. But, in order to do that, one needs to be able to stay. That means abiding by the rules.

Seems rather simple, and straight forward. Apparently, it's not.

a reply to: seeker1963

thats how ive viewed it but its been a law since 77 and it apparently hasnt been challenged

www.washingtonpost.com... 54ba07018

The Israel Anti-Boycott Act is a minor updating of a venerable statute that has been at the center of the U.S. consensus on Israel policy — the laws designed to counteract Arab states’ boycott of Israel by barring Americans from joining such boycotts. Now, the American Civil Liberties Union has dropped a bomb: It says the proposed act unconstitutionally abridges free speech. Although the ACLU is only lobbying against the current bill, its argument is against the entire system of federal anti-boycott law, including the anti-boycott provisions of the 1977 Export Administration Act, a consequence that the group seems unwilling to admit (see Eugene Volokh’s post). Indeed, the ACLU’s position would make many U.S. sanctions against foreign countries (Iran, Russia, Cuba, etc.) unconstitutional. The ACLU’s claims are as weak as they are dramatic. I should note that I have been involved with state-level “anti-BDS” (boycott, sanctions and divestment) legislation and have advised on some of the federal bills. Although well-crafted measures avoid First Amendment problems, there are ways such laws can get it wrong, and I have been open in calling out measures that go too far. (For example, the application of such laws to prevent a Roger Waters concert is quite problematic.) Current law prohibits U.S. entities from participating in or cooperating with international boycotts organized by foreign countries. These measures, first adopted in 1977, were explicitly aimed at the Arab states’ boycott of Israel, but its language is far broader, not mentioning any particular countries. Since then, these laws and the many detailed regulations pursuant to them, have been the basis for a large number of investigations and prosecutions of companies for boycott activity. The laws are administered by a special unit of the Commerce Department, the Office of Antiboycott Compliance. The existing laws cover not just participation in a boycott, but also facilitating the boycott by answering questions or furnishing information, when done in furtherance of the boycott. For example, telling a Saudi company, “You know, we don’t happen to do business with the Zionist entity” would be prohibited. It is no defense for one who participates in the Arab League boycott to argue that they happen to hate Israel anyway. Nor is it a defense to argue that one loves Israel and is simply being pressured by Arab businesses. It is the conduct that matters, not the ideology. That is why the law has been upheld against First Amendment challenges in the years after its passage and has not raised any constitutional concerns in nearly four decades since. Refusing to do business is not an inherently expressive activity, as the Supreme Court held in Rumsfeld v. FAIR. It can be motivated by many concerns. It is only the boycotter’s explanation of the action that sends a message, not the actual business conduct. Those expressions of views are protected, but they do not immunize the underlying economic conduct from regulation. This distinction between the expression and the commercial conduct is crucial to the constitutionality of civil rights acts. In the United States, hate speech is constitutionally protected. However, if a KKK member places his constitutionally protected expression of racial hatred within the context of a commercial transaction — for example, by publishing a “For Sale” notice that says that he will not sell his house to Jews or African Americans — it loses its constitutional protection. The Fair Housing Act forbids publishing such discriminatory notices, and few doubt the constitutionality of the Fair Housing Act. If the anti-boycott measures are unconstitutional, as the ACLU argues, it would mean that most foreign sanctions laws are unconstitutional. If refusing to do business with a country is protected speech because it could send a message of opposition to that country’s policies, doing business would also be protected speech. Thus, anyone barred from doing business with Iran, Cuba or Sudan would be free to do so if they said it was a message of support for the revolution, or opposition to U.S. policy, or whatever.

but then there is this so no idea

www.lexology.com...

www.aipac.org.../Fact%20Sheets/BDS/2017/09/US%20Courts no idea if current but apprently the boycot compliance act has been upheld numerious times by us courts to not violate free speach

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Yeah Israel is all for human rights/Not...

www.hrw.org...

Tells you everything you need to know about this racist nation. Boycott till apartheid ends.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: seeker1963
a reply to: CriticalStinker


Sounds to me like Israel is keeping out the Soros Anti Semites! Good for Israel! Why would an American go to Israel to stir up BS?

Her grandparents are Palestinian, so I doubt she needs a check from Soros to warrant an opinion on Israel.

That aside, I think any American has the right to have an opinion on Israel considering we clock in and out each day to send part of our earnings over there.

We clock in and out everyday to send part of our earnings to many, many countries. Does that mean we have a right to opinionate?

And since when does opinionate equal protesting or more? Every country deserves the right to deny visiting disrupters......EVERY COUNTRY.