{"id":6465,"date":"2021-11-20T00:08:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T22:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/?p=6465"},"modified":"2025-01-28T18:21:48","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T16:21:48","slug":"boycott-documentary-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/2021\/11\/boycott-documentary-released\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Boycott&#8221; documentary highlights those challenging the wave of US anti-boycott legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Boycott: Official Trailer\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FAMAFyR7L9U?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"717\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/boycott-just-vision-717x1024.png\" alt=\"Boycott documentary poster\" class=\"wp-image-6466\" style=\"width:340px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/boycott-just-vision-717x1024.png 717w, https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/boycott-just-vision-480x685.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 717px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Synopsis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the past six years, unbeknownst to most Americans, 37 states passed laws intending to silence boycotts 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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 \u2013 how did we get here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our story weaves through the personal histories and legal battles of three \u201caccidental plaintiffs\u201d across the US. Mikkel Jordahl, an attorney in Arizona, provides legal services to incarcerated persons. When the time comes to renew his contract with the State, he is shocked to discover a new clause requiring that he certify that he will not engage in a boycott of Israel. Reflecting on what he considers government overreach and with the impact of a father-son visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories still fresh in his mind, Mikkel decides that he cannot sign the contract in good conscience. He sues the State of Arizona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around the same time, Bahia Amawi, a childhood speech therapist in Texas\u2019s public school system, finds herself unemployed following her refusal to sign the state\u2019s anti-boycott pledge. Shaped by her family history and driven by a commitment to safeguard the right to free speech for her daughters and future generations, Bahia launches a suit against the State of Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alan Leveritt, the publisher of the Arkansas Times, learns of his state\u2019s anti-boycott law when he is told by the University of Arkansas that the state-funded university cannot pay for ads in his newspaper if he doesn\u2019t sign Arkansas\u2019s anti-boycott pledge. Influenced by his belief that the government has no business forcing individuals to adhere to certain political agendas and recognizing that the law forces the Arkansas Times to compromise its journalistic integrity, Alan makes the difficult decision to launch a suit against the State of Arkansas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the film unfolds, the larger implications of the anti-boycott bills are interwoven with the stories of our protagonists. We meet several individuals who are proponents of these laws, including State Senator Bart Hester of Arkansas, whose Christian faith drives his support for the legislation. We also hear from Itamar Benzaquen, an Israeli journalist whose investigative research helps us understand the rapid spread of anti-boycott bills, raising the question: in whose interest are these laws being passed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Providing rich context on the origins of the anti-boycott bills, the narrative arc of the film is set by the personal journeys of our three protagonists. Moving from the Arizona desert to a mosque in Texas, from the ACLU headquarters in NYC to a family farm in Arkansas, the film chronicles the courage of three Americans as they defend freedom of expression, and lays bare what\u2019s at stake \u2013 our constitutionally-protected right to boycott \u2013 if they are defeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn more at <a href=\"https:\/\/justvision.org\/boycott\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/justvision.org\/boycott<\/a> and watch the full documentary at <a href=\"https:\/\/justvision.org\/boycott\">https:\/\/justvision.org\/boycott<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boycott traces the impact of state legislation designed to penalize individuals and companies that choose to boycott Israel due to its human rights record. A legal thriller with \u201caccidental plaintiffs\u201d at the center of the story, Boycott is a bracing look at the far-reaching implications of anti-boycott legislation and an inspiring tale of everyday Americans standing up to protect our rights in an age of shifting politics and threats to freedom of speech. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[926],"tags":[1006,708,1101,1005,1003,1004],"ppma_author":[936],"class_list":["post-6465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-documentaries","tag-anti-boycott-laws","tag-boycott","tag-boycott-documentary","tag-daniel-j-chalfen","tag-julia-bacha","tag-suhad-babaa"],"authors":[{"term_id":936,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"sambahour","display_name":"Sam Bahour","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bca109c333bf6d8ae807746dd512adde46265d37c923f6cd0fc4aab437f8e9aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"1","first_name":"Sam","last_name":"Bahour","user_url":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour","job_title":"","description":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sam Bahour<\/strong> is a Palestinian-American business consultant, writer, and commentator based in Al-Bireh\/Ramallah, Palestine. He is the principal of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aim.ps\/\">Applied Information Management (AIM)<\/a>, a consultancy specializing in business development and startup advisory services.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bahour played a foundational role in establishing two of Palestine\u2019s publicly traded companies: the Palestine Telecommunications Company (PALTEL) and the Arab Palestinian Shopping Centers (APSC). He co-founded Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (A4VPE), of which he is now an emeritus member, and served as an independent director on the board of Arab Islamic Bank P.L.C. from 2004 to 2025. He currently serves on the board of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.justvision.org\/\">Just Vision<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/mas.ps\">The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS)<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He frequently gives talks to delegations visiting Palestine on the subjects of Palestine\u2019s political economy, Palestinian Politics 101, and a general orientation to the state of affairs under Israeli military occupation.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A prolific writer on Palestinian affairs, Bahour has been published in major international outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, Haaretz, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera America, Le Monde diplomatique, Al-Monitor, +972 Magazine, The Hill, and Arab News. He has appeared as a commentator on NPR, CNN, BBC, and other broadcast media.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bahour is the co-editor of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Homeland-Oral-Histories-Palestine-Palestinians\/dp\/1566561329\/ref=la_B00HBW71SO_1_1\">Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians<\/a><\/em> (Olive Branch Press, 1993) and was profiled in the bestselling anthology <em><a href=\"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/2017\/06\/epalestine-kingdom-of-olives-and-ash\/\">Kingdom of Olives and Ash<\/a><\/em>, edited by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, in a chapter authored by Chabon titled \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/lithub.com\/the-tallest-man-in-ramallah\/\">The Tallest Man in Ramallah<\/a>.\u201d He holds an Associate\u2019s and Bachelor\u2019s degree in Computer Technology from Youngstown State University, and a Kellogg-Recanati International Executive MBA \u2014 a joint program of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Recanati Business School at Tel Aviv University.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He tweets at <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SamBahour\">@SamBahour<\/a>, blogs at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.epalestine.ps\">www.epalestine.ps<\/a>, and may be reached at sbahour[AT]gmail[DOT]com.<\/p>"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6465"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9256,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6465\/revisions\/9256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6465"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=6465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}