Dear Friends,

Last week the Ohio House passed H.B. 476 to silence Ohioans who speak up for Palestinians’ rights.

On that same day, an amendment to double the amount of State of Ohio assets which may be invested in foreign nation debt instruments from 1% to 2%.  In comments before the House vote, Rep. Sprague noted that the available State assets for investment were approximately $13,000,000,000 to $14,000,000,000 and that Israel was the only nation capable of meeting the standards for the investment of State of Ohio funds by the Treasurer. Ohio seeks to extend up to $260,000,000 in credit to a foreign nation.

We thought the senate was going to pass the same bill that week, but fortunately, likely due to strong pushback by staunch activists, the senate will not be hearing it until next week. This gives us three days. 

On Wednesday December 7, the Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee will hold a hearing on the bill in the Finance Hearing Room at 8:30 a.m. 

To stop the bill from becoming law, we need your help. We need your voice. Palestinians need YOU.

If passed, all for-profit entities desiring to receive State of Ohio money or benefits will be required to sign away the right to oppose Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. Participation in much of Ohio’s economic activity will require a coerced foreign policy position.

The bill seeks to outlaw the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement in Ohio. BDS is a nonviolent global grassroots effort to restore the fundamental human rights of Palestinians, and it is based on the anti-apartheid campaign against South Africa.

What Can You Do?

• DRAFT and PUBLISH an op-ed or Letter to the Editor opposing the bill. The sooner the better.

Focus your writing on the tenet of free speech. Need help drafting something? Need us to review it? Email us at ohiofreespeech@PROTECTED

• DRAFT testimony and SUBMIT it by 8 a.m. on Tuesday, December 6, to Patrick.Potyondy@ohiosenate.gov. Forward your sent email so we can ensure they let you testify ohiofreespeech@PROTECTED

Focus your writing on the tenet of free speech. Need help? Check out all the testimony before the house. http://www.ohiohouse.gov/committee/government-accountability-and-oversight

Click on May 3, 2016, then H.B. No. 476. You will find over 30 examples.

• ATTEND and TESTIFY at the opponent hearing in the Finance Hearing Room on Wednesday, December 7 at 8:30 a.m.

• CALL and EMAIL (draft below) your Senator. https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislators/find-my-legislators 
  

Hello. My name is YOUR NAME. I am calling to ask Senator YOUR SENATOR’S NAME to stop an unconstitutional bill from passing through the senate. (WAIT FOR THEM TO ASK YOU WHAT IT IS, THEN SAY,) It is the bill that prohibits Ohioans from speaking about Palestinian rights, House Bill 476. Please give me the senator’s email so I can send you a legal memo stating the issues with this bill

• Email (draft below) the governor’s office: sarah.huffman@PROTECTED.gov 

• Tweet, Facebook, Snapchat, Email, WhatsApp, go all out on Social Media. 

I support free speech in Ohio. I stand with human rights in Palestine. I stand against Israeli Apartheid. @YOURSENATOR, will you represent me? #RightToBoycott #OhioansAgainstHB476

• Include the legal memo link in all your correspondence. 

http://uscpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/whyHB476isunconstitutional.pdf

• Include the legal memo (attached) regarding the AMENDED bill in all your correspondence. 

• Like our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/F2BOhio/

• Stay tuned. Stay active. Stay involved. If the bill passes through the senate, it will go to the governor. Governor Kasich can veto the bill.

Email to Senators and Governor Draft

Dear SENATOR / GOVERNOR, 

My name is (insert full name) and I am an Ohio resident.

I am writing to ask you to vote NO on H.B. 476: the bill to prohibit a state agency from contracting with for profit entities that disinvest from or boycott Israel.

As you know, H.B. 476 has been voted upon by the Ohio House General Assembly by a vote Yes 81 and No 13. A few courageous representatives voted against this bill, after Rep Michael Curtin's excellent and compelling speech of opposition ( http://www.ohiohouse.gov/session/session-video-library, at 1:47:40-2:01:40 min), because H.B. 476 violates both the US and Ohio Constitutions which guarantee freedom of speech.

The bill also violates the US Foreign Policy over the past 50 years by both Republican and Democratic administrations by supporting illegal Israeli settlement expansion, the end of which is the objective of the international non-violent Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement. 

On that same day, an amendment to double the amount of State of Ohio assets which may be invested in foreign nation debt instruments from 1% to 2%.  In comments before the House vote, Rep. Sprague noted that the available State assets for investment were approximately $13,000,000,000 to $14,000,000,000 and that Israel was the only nation capable of meeting the standards for the investment of State of Ohio funds by the Treasurer. Ohio seeks to extend up to $260,000,000 in credit to a foreign nation.

Please support the right of Ohioans to boycott Israel. Did you know that Palestinians in the occupied territories are subjected to forcible relocation, demolition of their homes, theft of land, systematic infringement against civil, social, economic, and cultural rights, segregation, institutional discrimination, and other abuses documented by the United Nations? The situation is no better inside Israel, where Palestinian citizens are prohibited from living in more than 400 Jewish communities in Israel.

Please protect my constitutional right to free speech. Please vote for human rights against oppression and discrimination, by voting NO on House Bill 476.

Also, here is a link to the legal memo explaining how the bill violates state and federal laws. http://uscpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/whyHB476isunconstitutional.pdf