Help Defeat BDS

YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE CAN STOP AN ANTI-ISRAEL BILL FROM BECOMING LAW!

A bill has been introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives that would repeal Illinois’ decade-old anti-BDS law. We need your help to stand with the Jewish community and defeat this repeal effort.

The pro-BDS bill, HB2723, was just assigned to the International Relations, Tourism and Trade Committee – on which your State Representative sits. Our goal is for the committee to vote against the bill so that it never reaches the House floor. Now is the time to ask your State Representative to vote NO on BDS.

By filling out the form below, your State Representative will receive an email from you asking them to vote NO on the BDS Bill. Please share this with your friends and neighbors!

Please click here if you’d like to get more involved with this effort.

In partnership,

Annie Warshaw

Dear [Lawmaker],

I’m writing to ask you to oppose House Bill 2723. This bill would repeal current Illinois Pension Code language requiring the Illinois Investment Policy Board to identify companies that boycott Israel as being prohibited for pension fund investments. The current law passed unanimously over a decade ago is narrow and responsible, and it does not restrict commerce, state contracting, or free speech.

The existing law was passed to combat the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which explicitly rejects a two-state solution, reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, undermines peaceful co-existence, and fuels antisemitism. Thirty-seven other states have enacted measures to combat the BDS movement.

House Bill 2723 is divisive and does not advance peace. With antisemitism and acts of hate on the rise, I want to underscore that supporting House Bill 2723 would have a direct and personal impact on my community as BDS supporters have harassed politicians, academics, performers and business owners at public events, their work, on campuses and at their homes. Repealing the current anti-BDS law signals alignment with that agenda and legitimizes a movement that fuels hostility toward Jews.

This concern is shared broadly across Illinois. The effort to oppose repealing Illinois’ anti-BDS law is being led by a wide coalition that includes Agudath Israel of Illinois, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish United Fund / Jewish Federation of Chicago, Jewish Federation of Peoria, Jewish Federation of Rockford, Jewish Federation of Springfield, Jewish Federation of Quad Cities, RAC IL, Simon Wiesenthal Center, StandWithUs, and Jewish leaders and clergy from across our state. While these organizations are engaged, the most important voices you will hear from are those of your own constituents—people like me who are directly affected by this decision.

House Bill 2723 is not a human rights initiative–it is divisive and does not advance peace. In fact, it is a distraction from the real needs facing our district and the state. I respectfully urge you to vote NO on HB 2723.

Sincerely,
______

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