Want to be a UT contractor? Pledge your loyalty to Israel

[Gil Bang 25865]

In Their Rush to Appear Pro-Israel, Texas Lawmakers May Have Stepped on Free Speech

 

A growing number of people have reported that a state law is forcing them to choose between their political beliefs and payment for their labor.

Students march at the Texas Capitol. NASHWA BAWAB

To make extra money while attending the University of Texas at Austin, Obi Dennar often worked as a judge for high school debate tournaments. In October, after working a two-day tournament at Klein High School near Houston, Dennar noticed a clause in his contract that he’d never seen before.

“Contractor hereby certifies and verifies that neither Contractor, nor any affiliate … boycotts Israel, and contractor agrees that Contractor … will not boycott Israel during the term of this agreement,” it read.

Dennar was shocked. As a college student, he had been involved with the Palestine Solidarity Committee, a long-standing pro-Palestine group at UT that’s active in the broader “boycott, divest, sanction” (BDS) movement that seeks to economically pressure Israel through public campaigns. Dennar recalled that a school official told him and the other judges that any discrepancies in the contract could result in legal consequences.

“I thought ‘wow,’ I can’t sign this because even if they were just to Google my name they will be able to find that I’ve been a part of groups that advocate for Palestinian rights,” Dennar said. Rather than put himself at legal risk or violate his conscience he decided not to sign the contract, forfeiting the $150 he was owed. “It’s pretty frustrating given that I’m in college and every dollar matters. I find that it’s very suspicious, but also very wrong.”

An anti-BDS clause in the contract presented to Obi Dennar by Klein ISD in 2017. The anti-terrorism language included in this contract is not included in all versions administered by cities and schools.  RUBEN PAQUIAN

The contract clause is the result of a new state law. Passed in 2017 by the Texas Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support and little debate, House Bill 89 prohibits governmental entities from contracting with companies and individuals that have or will “boycott Israel.” As a result, government agencies, including public schools and universities, are now requiring contractors to pledge that they don’t participate in economic protests of Israel. A growing number of people, including Dennar, have reported that they’ve been forced to choose between their political beliefs and payment for their labor.

Klein ISD spokesperson Denise McLean said the school was simply following the law. The contract “was sent to all prospective judges prior to the tournament, and prospective judges were expected to read and sign the contract in order to receive payment,” she said.

But Dennar said the state of Texas is inappropriately policing a particular political view. “Essentially, what they are saying is that you can be a member of any racist organization, and that’s completely fine, as long as you don’t boycott the state of Israel,” Dennar said.

Texas lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, are often eager to prove their pro-Israel bona fides. When he signed HB 89 into law last year, Governor Greg Abbott said “anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies.”

Representative Phil King, R-Weatherford

“Israel is our fourth largest trade partner, and it’s important for us to support the economy of our friend and trade partner. We also share the same values,” the law’s author, state Representative Phil King, told the Tel Aviv-based newspaper Haaretz in October. King didn’t respond to questions for this story.

But lawmakers don’t seem to have thought through the free speech implications, especially for public schools and universities. In February, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, a Rio Grande Valley native and author, put on a creative writing workshop for the Spanish department at the University of Houston. Weeks later, she was told by university officials she would need to sign a contract that included the anti-boycott clause to receive the $700 she was owed. When Villarreal refused, a school employee forged her signature and subsequently resigned, according to the Houston Chronicle. School officials told the newspaper in May that Attorney General Ken Paxton had since issued “informal guidance” that campus speakers could be paid without signing the contract.

Still, the clause appears to be widely used. The Texas Association of School Boards issued guidance to school districts last year, recommending that schools seek written verification from companies and individuals that they haven’t and won’t boycott Israel.  Austin, Houston and Dallas also include the pledge in their contracts. The Observer confirmed that three of the state’s largest university systems — the University of Texas, Texas A&M and the University of Houston — do as well.

 

“Essentially, what they are saying is that you can be a member of any racist organization, and that’s completely fine, as long as you don’t boycott the state of Israel.”

 

Rahul Saksena, a staff attorney for Palestine Legal, said the law is “unconstitutional because the right to engage in political boycott, like a boycott for Palestinian rights, is a right that the Supreme Court has recognized to be protected by the First Amendment.”

Texas is among at least 24 other states that have enacted such legislation, known as anti-BDS laws. In January, a federal judge temporarily blocked Kansas’ version of the law, ruling that it likely violated the First Amendment.

Not a single member of the Texas House voted against HB 89 in 2017. In the Senate, Robert Nichols was the only Republican to vote against the measure, along with four Democrats who opposed.

Senator Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo  PATRICK MICHELS

State Senator Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said that the law in some instances has been used as a “problematic litmus test that goes well beyond the legislation’s purpose.”

For example, Dickinson, a small town in Galveston County, was threatened with lawsuits a few months after the law passed when it temporarily required residents displaced by Hurricane Harvey to sign the anti-BDS clause in an application for disaster aid. “I am confident no senator even thought of such an application of this law,” Zaffirini said in a statement.

[Js1 85056]

Small government free speech Republicans strike again!

[bad_teammate 13125]

The evangelical death cult worship of Israel will ultimately be really, really bad for Israel. Allegiances that passionately ignorant never turn out well.

[RDCanecutter 26239]

Any Pro-Palestinian contractors would have just used the materials to build tunnels.

[David Dennison 18608]

What a joke. 

[Orca of Peace 109]

42 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

The evangelical death cult worship of Israel will ultimately be really, really bad for Israel. Allegiances that passionately ignorant never turn out well.

is this just a Protestant thing? I don't think Catholics or the other major branches have this idea. 

 

btw, this is all a reaction to the anti Israeli BDS movement - Boycott Divest Sanction. There's lots of stories on this besides what OP wrote about. 

Edited August 14, 2018 by Orca of Peace

[woohorn 1131]

is this just a Protestant thing?

No. It's an evangelical thing. Taking the parts of The Bible they like too literally.

[F250 28659]

19 minutes ago, woohorn said:

 

 

No. It's an evangelical thing. Taking the parts of The Bible they like too literally.

Actually, they are adding parts that were never written nor conceptualized until the mid nineteenth century.

 

 

[Orca of Peace 109]

what percentage of Evangelicals are Protestant and what % are Catholics, meaning allegiance to the Pope? 

[David Dennison 18608]

Evangelical Catholics?

I laughed.

 

[TheRealRonWeaver? 1258]

Evangelical Catholics?
I laughed.
 

Well, there’s such a thing as “jumbo shrimp.”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[David Dennison 18608]

For someone who spent a great deal of time in Catholic school, evangelical Catholic just sounds funny to me. 

[RPM 26185]

19 minutes ago, Orca of Peace said:

what percentage of Evangelicals are Protestant and what % are Catholics

[Orca of Peace 109]

a similar event occurred during Hurricane Harvey:

No hurricane relief unless you promise not to boycott Israel! Abbot brings the wtf strong. 

 

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/texas-harvey-israel/

Did a City in Texas Require Harvey Aid Recipients to Promise Not to Boycott Israel?

The mayor of Dickinson, Texas, says a new state law requires that the city ask aid recipients not to boycott Israel.

The city of Dickinson, in Galveston County, was among the hardest-hit places when Hurricane Harvey’s torrential rains slammed Texas. Residents now seeking Harvey relief face a strange ultimatum: agree not to boycott Israel, or your application for aid will be denied. 

“Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies, and we will not tolerate such actions against an important ally,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release earlier this year.

 

One of the terms of the application is:

11. Verification not to Boycott Israel. By executing this Agreement below, the Applicant verifies that the Applicant: (1) does not boycott Israel; and (2) will not boycott Israel during the term of this Agreement.

Dickinson Mayor Julie Masters told local TV news channel KHOU that the city was required to include that condition on the release of the funding by a recently-passed Texas state law – House Bill 89, which Governor Greg Abbott signed in May, and which came into effect on 1 September 2017. 

 

 

 

[Brisketexan 104465]

Dominionism -- a batshit, heretical theological approach, controls our government.  Again, a theological subset which is effectively manufactured out of whole cloth, has an amazing amount of control over our actual laws.

Quote

The nation of Israel and the role of the city of Jerusalem are central in the “end-times” theology – a form of what is known as “pre-millennialism” – embraced by many American conservative Protestants.

While this theology is often thought of as a “literal” reading of the Bible, it’s actually a reasonably new interpretation that dates to the 19th century and relates to the work of Bible teacher John Nelson Darby.

According to Darby, for this to happen the Jewish people must have control of Jerusalem and build a third Jewish temple on the site where the first and second temples – destroyed centuries ago by the Babylonians and Romans – once were. In Darby’s view this was a necessary precursor to the rapture, when believers would be “taken up” by Christ to escape the worst of the seven-year-period of suffering and turmoil on Earth: the Great Tribulation. This is to be followed by the cosmic battle between good and evil called Armageddon at which Satan will be defeated and Christ will establish his earthly kingdom. All of this became eminently more possible when the modern state of Israel was established in the 1940s.

In short, we need Israel so the prophecies and the rapture (made up shit) can come true.

And if you're a Jewish Israeli, the really insulting part about all this is that (spoiler alert) in the final days according to the prophecy, the Jews get hammered, too.  In short, we need the Jews around so that they can die and fulfill the prophecy so all of us good Christian types can ascend and play our harps.

To be fair, the Israel lobby doesn't give a shit about that, because they know it's wacko kookiness.  BUT....they'll happily take advantage of said wacko kookiness to implement US policies that are favorable to Israel.  Because (spoiler alert again)....there ain't no "end of days" coming.

[Orca of Peace 109]

the sad but delicious irony is that the biggest religious fanatics in the Arab Israeli conflict are not Arabs or Jews -- but the "Americans".  

[SubliminalHorn 6648]

Religion is a fucking scourge

[BrickHorn 18176]

You know who else boycotted Israel?  Jesus, for 40 days. 

[Brisketexan 104465]

20 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

You know who else boycotted Israel?  Jesus, for 40 days. 

Dirty little secret.....

"Jesus was a JEW!"

[David Dennison 18608]

28 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Dominionism -- a batshit, heretical theological approach, controls our government.  Again, a theological subset which is effectively manufactured out of whole cloth, has an amazing amount of control over our actual laws.

In short, we need Israel so the prophecies and the rapture (made up shit) can come true.

And if you're a Jewish Israeli, the really insulting part about all this is that (spoiler alert) in the final days according to the prophecy, the Jews get hammered, too.  In short, we need the Jews around so that they can die and fulfill the prophecy so all of us good Christian types can ascend and play our harps.

To be fair, the Israel lobby doesn't give a shit about that, because they know it's wacko kookiness.  BUT....they'll happily take advantage of said wacko kookiness to implement US policies that are favorable to Israel.  Because (spoiler alert again)....there ain't no "end of days" coming.

Dominionism is a little nutty for sure, but let's be perfectly clear: as far as Rome is concerned, all Protestants are heretics.

[BrickHorn 18176]

32 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Religion is a fucking scourge

Every time I think this, it’s immediately followed by this thought: “...but it’s the only thing keeping the imbecile mobs from atrocity.”

In fact, I’d argue that Trump is largely a result of Christianity waning in this county.  At least the good parts of Christianity.  You know, the “turn the other cheek” and “love your neighbor” parts.  A prevailing (and growing) strain of Christianity in America neglects that shit in favor of a bunch of allegedly Christian ideas that Jesus would have loudly denounced.

Just kidding, of course.  There never was a Jesus.

Edited August 14, 2018 by BrickHorn

[Orca of Peace 109]

so how many on this thread are in favor of the freedom of firms to boycott Israel without repercussions from the State of Texas?  

[JBJ 3647]

The lawyers recommending this must not be originalists.

 

[TwiceHorn 31184]

Absolutely batshit.

Any lawyer (Paxton!) that supports this probably ought to be disciplined.

[Prepuce of Doom 20969]

Quite a left-leaning slant in the original article. 

[Mojo Hand 4580]

58 minutes ago, Orca of Peace said:

what percentage of Evangelicals are Protestant and what % are Catholics, meaning allegiance to the Pope? 

Chortle. 

[David Dennison 18608]

22 minutes ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

Quite a left-leaning slant in the original article. 

Well, the law is quite right-leaning, so . . . 

[Orca of Peace 109]

22 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Absolutely batshit.

Any lawyer (Paxton!) that supports this probably ought to be disciplined.

well it's in 24 states already and growing, becoming more Jewish ethnofascist all the time.  There's also a separate free speech angle related to the anti BDS movement that AIPAC wanted but has been watered down IIRC, the original version involved prison time for speaking out against Israel. 

[David Dennison 18608]

19 minutes ago, Orca of Peace said:

well it's in 24 states already and growing, becoming more Jewish ethnofascist all the time.  There's also a separate free speech angle related to the anti BDS movement that AIPAC wanted but has been watered down IIRC, the original version involved prison time for speaking out against Israel. 

Hold on there, champ. Anti-Israel should not be confused with anti-Jew. There's a big difference.

[hpslugga 4039]

disgusting

[Orca of Peace 109]

21 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

Hold on there, champ. Anti-Israel should not be confused with anti-Jew. There's a big difference.

obviously there's a big difference between super liberal Jews like Bernie Sanders (who wants to reduce Israeli aid) and Jewish ethnofascists of AIPAC who have come to dominate the government (state and federal)  - when it comes to the Israel issue. 

Edited August 14, 2018 by Orca of Peace

[WhatTheBuck 28700]

This is gong on at the federal level too. 

https://theintercept.com/2017/07/19/u-s-lawmakers-seek-to-criminally-outlaw-support-for-boycott-campaign-against-israel/

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Orca of Peace said:

what percentage of Evangelicals are Protestant and what % are Catholics, meaning allegiance to the Pope? 

The evangelicals are roughly split as follows:

• 50% protestant
• 20% catholic
• 20% Muslim
• 10% atheist (meaning allegiance to Richard Dawkins)

Politically they are split like this according to the internet:

• 110% Trump
• 80% Nazi

 

[formermav43 4599]

1 hour ago, woohorn said:

 

 

No. It's an evangelical thing. Taking the parts of The Bible they like too literally.

 

It’s actually more of a dispensational premillennialist thing.

[Orca of Peace 109]

28 minutes ago, Aphelion said:

The evangelicals are roughly split as follows:

• 50% protestant
• 20% catholic
• 20% Muslim
• 10% atheist (meaning allegiance to Richard Dawkins)

Politically they are split like this according to the internet:

• 110% Trump
• 80% Nazi

 

nice but it's 100% John Hagee in reality. I looked it up. 

[DaysOff 7821]

No. It's an evangelical thing. Taking the parts of The Bible they like too literally.

I get that, but why does the American left seem so Palestinian they seem almost anti semitic.

[woohorn 1131]

IDK. Videos of snipers killing cildren don't help tho.

[GSU&UT 1798]

1 hour ago, F250 said:

Actually, they are adding parts that were never written nor conceptualized until the mid nineteenth century.

 

 

Don't tell my Dad that. He has been saying that he feels like the end of the world is around the corner for the past 15 years because of Israel and the ME.

[F250 28659]

43 minutes ago, GSU&UT said:

Don't tell my Dad that. He has been saying that he feels like the end of the world is around the corner for the past 15 years because of Israel and the ME.

At least its only been 15 years. I would say people have been worrying about this forever but really its only been about 45 years. Oddly, the end of days stuff was never popular in times when it really seemed like the end of days such as the Civil War, WWI, Great Depression, WWII, Cuban Missile Crisis or any major event prior to 1970's.

 

[RDCanecutter 26239]

Nah dudes. World's gonna end in 1988. Late Great Planet Earth out front shoulda told you.

[WhatTheBuck 28700]

1 hour ago, DaysOff said:

3 hours ago, woohorn said:

No. It's an evangelical thing. Taking the parts of The Bible they like too literally.

I get that, but why does the American left seem so Palestinian they seem almost anti semitic.

Probably because they're dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal and in Israel it's the Palestinians who are living under apartheid. Notice that they're also against the Nazis marching in Charlottesville chanting "The Jews will not replace us!"

It's really not hard to understand.

[WhatTheBuck 28700]

50 minutes ago, F250 said:

At least its only been 15 years. I would say people have been worrying about this forever but really its only been about 45 years. Oddly, the end of days stuff was never popular in times when it really seemed like the end of days such as the Civil War, WWI, Great Depression, WWII, Cuban Missile Crisis or any major event prior to 1970's.

 

Check your bible. Jesus preached that the end of the world would come within the lifetime of those listening to him. The belief that the end is nigh is literally as old as Christianity. 

[GSU&UT 1798]

24 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Check your bible. Jesus preached that the end of the world would come within the lifetime of those listening to him. The belief that the end is nigh is literally as old as Christianity. 

I think he's specifically talking about a lot of pastor grifters who got on board with this idea only more recently in a mainstream way.

[BrickHorn 18176]

41 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Check your bible. Jesus preached that the end of the world would come within the lifetime of those listening to him. The belief that the end is nigh is literally as old as Christianity. 

Look, cut Jesus a break.  God can’t be expected to know everything. 

Edited August 15, 2018 by BrickHorn

[Huckleberry 32685]

2 hours ago, Aphelion said:

The evangelicals are roughly split as follows:

• 50% protestant
• 20% catholic
• 20% Muslim
• 10% atheist (meaning allegiance to Richard Dawkins)

Politically they are split like this according to the internet:

• 110% Trump
• 80% Nazi

 

Aw look, Aphelion's feelings are hurt again. So cute.

[WhatTheBuck 28700]

31 minutes ago, GSU&UT said:

I think he's specifically talking about a lot of pastor grifters who got on board with this idea only more recently in a mainstream way.

The business model is almost 2,000 years old and hasn't changed that much. The enterprise has evolved along with culture and technology but the basic scam remains the same. Indulgences by any other name. 

[Orca of Peace 109]

the sad part is that Americans have to pledge loyalty to a foreign power to get American dollars (Ameros) from their own presumably American government  to help in hurricane disaster relief.  And no one questions the sanity of this process. 

[bad_teammate 13125]

30 minutes ago, Orca of Peace said:

And no one questions the sanity of this process. 

not-Republicans do

[Orca of Peace 109]

27 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

not-Republicans do

the damn thing passed almost 100% in the Texas legislature. Why is everyone so scared of AIPAC?  You see NRA bumper stickers but not any AIPAC ones, do you? I don't know why the politicians are so dickless when it comes to Israel, except for one Bernie Sanders,  the elderly Jew who had some family perish in the Holocaust, of all people. 

Edited August 15, 2018 by Orca of Peace

[JBJ 3647]

4 hours ago, JBJ said:

The lawyers recommending this must not be originalists.

 

52 minutes ago, Orca of Peace said:

the sad part is that Americans have to pledge loyalty to a foreign power to get American dollars (Ameros) from their own presumably American government  to help in hurricane disaster relief.  And no one questions the sanity of this process. 

Perhaps I should clarify my first post.

Texas law doesn't require this.  The law named above is specifically about public pension investments.  Title 8 is literally "PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEMS" and Title 10 Ch 2270 deals with contracts for the same.  The law is that state pensions cannot be invested with companies that boycott investment in Israeli companies.

The lawyers for the ISDs are highly regarded and probably think these waivers will stave off some bizarre lawsuit.

Edited August 15, 2018 by JBJ