CHRA is co-sponsoring a screening of the film Boycott (2021), with director Julia Bacha in-person on Tuesday, March 28, at Weis Cinema, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm.
Over the past six years, unbeknownst to most Americans, 34 states passed laws intending to silence boycott and other nonviolent measures aimed at pressuring Israel on its human rights record. These dangerous bills remove the legal protection that has been awarded to boycotts for generations, granting governments the power to condition jobs on political viewpoints.
As this wave of anti-boycott legislation has swept through the country, so has a counter-wave in defense of freedom of speech. Everyday Americans are challenging these laws for their constitutionality in a nation-wide battle likely to go all the way to the Supreme Court.
With full access to the plaintiffs and in revelatory moments with elected officials, Boycott chronicles one of the most consequential First Amendment battles of the past few decades and investigates the question – how did we get here?
The screening will be followed by a discussion with Julia Bacha, moderated by Peter Rosenblum, Professor of International Law and Human Rights.
This event is organized in conjunction with the OSUN Network Collaborative Course, Freedom of Expression, and is co-sponsored by CHRA, Middle Eastern Studies Program, Human Rights Project, and Global and International Studies Program.