A number of pending bills in the Virginia General Assembly reward Israel and threaten Palestinian supporters, according to protestors outside Alexandria’s City Hall on Saturday afternoon.
The weather was near freezing as more than 50 protestors held signs, chanted and spoke out against legislation that they say targets Palestinian solidarity and activism, in addition to free speech and academic freedom. The effort was organized by three groups seeking a ceasefire in Gaza — Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights, Arlington for Palestine, and the George Mason University Coalition for Palestine.
“We are here to defend our movement against a suite of dangerous bills passing through the Virginia General Assembly,” said Salma Jahani, a protestor from Alexandria. “By being here, you are standing up for Palestine.”
Sarah B., an organizer with Arlington for Palestine, said that the bills are a blatant attack on student organizations.
“The bills are as transparent as they are alarming,” Sarah said. “They seek to penalize protests on campuses by classifying ordinary student-led free speech as terrorism, applying damaging criminal and civil penalties to young people seeking to exercise their rights and support the Palestinian people.”
The groups asked protestors to send legislators letters opposing these bills:
- HB 1650: Authorizes the Attorney General to (i) issue a civil investigative demand when he has reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage such commission of an act of terrorism or provision of material support for an act of terrorism and (ii) on behalf of the Commonwealth, enforce and recover civil penalties for conduct that would give rise to such cause of action.
- HB 2529: Prohibits any public institution of higher education or any affiliated foundation, investment management company, or other entity that is responsible for managing or investing endowment funds of the institution from establishing or implementing any policy or practice of divesting from all investments in any country or territory that is not the subject of an active sanctions program administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
- HB 2207 and SB 1284: Prohibits from accessing, occupying, or otherwise having a physical presence on any campus of a public institution of higher education any (i) terrorist organization, (ii) state or non-state sponsor of terrorism, (iii) representative of a terrorist organization, as those terms are defined by the bill, or (iv) individual who, knowingly and with the intent set forth in the bill, solicits or attempts to solicit any individual to engage in terrorist activity, become a member of terrorist organization, or provide funds or other material support or resources, as that term is defined by the bill, to support, facilitate, or aid or abet terrorist activity or a terrorist organization.
- HB 2186 and SB 1247: Prohibits, except with the approval of the governing board of the institution of higher education or the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia under certain circumstances, any public institution of higher education from accepting any grant from or participating in any partnership or agreement with any foreign country of concern, as that term is defined in the bill.
The Virginia house and senate are in session until February 22.
