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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="https://sac4palestine.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/protect-free-speech-economic-activism-please-help-stop-ab-2844-judiciary-4-171.pdf">Calls and emails</a> are needed to the CA Assembly Judiciary Committee that will hear anti-BDS <a href="" target="_blank">AB 2844</a> this Tuesday, 4/19/16, 8:30am in Room 437, California State Capitol. <br><br><a href="" target="_blank">AB 2844</a> </span></b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>would restrict activism to end Israel’s occupation and violations of human rights by penalizing companies that choose not to do business with Israel. Over 100 groups have signed on in opposition to this bill, but it still passed the Administrative and Accountability Review committee last week. Despite the claims of AB 2844 author Assemblymember Richard Bloom, this bill has nothing to do with protecting Jewish students – it has everything to do with muzzling those who challenge Israel’s violations of human rights and international law. Our legislators need to hear that Californians don’t want their tax payer dollars wasted on bills like this that seek to defend Israel’s abuses and silence human rights activists.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:red'>Please take action:</span></b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br><br><b><span style='color:red'>1) Please send an email now</span></b> telling the committee members to vote against AB 2844 (sample message below). Ask them to enter your opposition as part of the public record. You can copy and paste emails below and/or <a href="http://org.salsalabs.com/o/301/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=19578">click to send a message</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://ajud.assembly.ca.gov/membersstaff"><b><span style='color:#7030A0'>Judiciary Committee</span></b></a><b><span style='color:#7030A0'><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="mailto:Assemblymember.Stone@assembly.ca.gov">Assemblymember.Stone@assembly.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:Assemblymember.Wagner@assembly.ca.gov">Assemblymember.Wagner@assembly.ca.gov</a>;<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="mailto:Assemblymember.Alejo@assembly.ca.gov">Assemblymember.Alejo@assembly.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:Assemblymember.Chau@assembly.ca.gov">Assemblymember.Chau@assembly.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:Assemblymember.Chiu@assembly.ca.gov">Assemblymember.Chiu@assembly.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:Assemblymember.Gallagher@assembly.ca.gov">Assemblymember.Gallagher@assembly.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:Assemblymember.Garcia@assembly.ca.gov">Assemblymember.Garcia@assembly.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:Assemblymember.Holden@assembly.ca.gov">Assemblymember.Holden@assembly.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:Assemblymember.Maienschein@assembly.ca.gov">Assemblymember.Maienschein@assembly.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:Assemblymember.Ting@assembly.ca.gov">Assemblymember.Ting@assembly.ca.gov</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Cc Judiciary Committee Legislative directors and committee secretary:<br><a href="mailto:arianna.smith@asm.ca.gov">arianna.smith@asm.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:david.scheidt@asm.ca.gov">david.scheidt@asm.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:paco.torres@asm.ca.gov">paco.torres@asm.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:garret.bazurto@asm.ca.gov">garret.bazurto@asm.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:ashley.medina@asm.ca.gov">ashley.medina@asm.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:erin.donnette@asm.ca.gov">erin.donnette@asm.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:katja.townsend@asm.ca.gov">katja.townsend@asm.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:eric.guerra@asm.ca.gov">eric.guerra@asm.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:Irene.ho@asm.ca.gov">Irene.ho@asm.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:nicholas.liedtke@asm.ca.gov">nicholas.liedtke@asm.ca.gov</a>; <a href="mailto:cindy.morante@asm.ca.gov">cindy.morante@asm.ca.gov</a>;<br><br>cc <a href="http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/">Your Assembly member.</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Please bcc: <a href="mailto:SacReg4PalestinianRights@gmail.com">SacReg4PalestinianRights@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:red'>2) On Monday, 4/18, please call the committee members:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://ajud.assembly.ca.gov/membersstaff">Judiciary committee members</a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://asmdc.org/members/a29"><span style='color:#AA5900'>Mark Stone (Chair)</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> Dem (916) 319-2029<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://assembly.ca.gov/a68"><span style='color:#AA5900'>Donald P. Wagner (Vice Chair)</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> Rep (916) 319-2068<br></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://asmdc.org/members/a30"><span style='color:#AA5900'>Luis A. Alejo</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> Dem (916) 319-2030<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://asmdc.org/members/a49"><span lang=SV style='color:#AA5900'>Ed Chau</span></a></span><span lang=SV style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> Dem (916) 319-2049<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://asmdc.org/members/a17"><span lang=SV style='color:#AA5900'>David Chiu</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span lang=SV style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>Dem - (916) 319-2017<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://assembly.ca.gov/a03"><span style='color:#AA5900'>James Gallagher</span></a> </span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>Rep - 03 (916) 319-2003<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://asmdc.org/members/a58"><span style='color:#AA5900'>Cristina Garcia</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> Dem - (916) 319-2058<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://asmdc.org/members/a41"><span style='color:#AA5900'>Chris R. Holden</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> Dem - (916) 319-2041<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://assembly.ca.gov/a77"><span style='color:#AA5900'>Brian Maienschein</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> Rep (916) 319-2077<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://asmdc.org/members/a19"><span style='color:#AA5900'>Philip Y. Ting</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> Dem; (916) 319-2019<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:red'>3) This coming Tuesday, April 19, 2016, 8:30am</span></b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> please attend the Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing on the bill, Room 437, California State Capitol, 1315 10<sup>th</sup> St, Sacramento to show your opposition to the bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Sample message: <br> <br>Dear Committee members:<br> </span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>I call on you to oppose AB 2844, an unconstitutional attempt to silence opponents of Israel’s occupation of Palestine and its well-documented human rights violations by </span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>penalizing companies for not doing business with Israel. <br> </span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The author of AB 2844 states that this bill is about protecting the state of Israel from the “BDS movement,” which he claims is trying to destroy Israel and protecting Jewish students at California colleges who are allegedly under assault “because of BDS.” Neither of these claims is fact based. Boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) are non-violent tools being used by human rights activists around the world to change the policies of the Israeli government, in the same way these tools were used to end the apartheid regime in South Africa. <br> UC and Anti-Defamation League surveys have documented a long downward trend in incidents of anti-Semitism and found that Jewish students as a whole feel safe and secure in their religious and/or ethnic identities. Of course any anti-Semitic manifestations need to be confronted, but the deliberate conflation of criticism of Israeli policy with anti-Semitism is just plain wrong. Campaigns for divestment resolutions by student governments have made clear that their demand is for policy change, not directed against Jews, whether in Israel or on campus. Many of the most active supporters are themselves Jewish students and faculty. If anything, they, along with other Palestine rights activists, have been subjected to physical and academic threats, unsubstantiated accusations in the media and excessive scrutiny by administrations.<br> AB 2844 would deny businesses the ability to make even economic decisions. In fact, the state of Illinois is now facing possible lawsuits from businesses due to similar legislation it has passed.<br> Whether or not one agrees with any particular boycott or divestment campaign aimed at pressing Israel to end its occupation, obey international law and respect Palestinian human rights, participation in such activities, in response to a call from Palestinians using nonviolent methods to secure their freedom, is a legitimate form of expression, protected by the U.S. and state constitutions. The state has no right to deny financial relationships to people or organizations on account of their political views.<br> Vote no on AB 2844.<br>Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:red'>Support Palestinian rights: Sign petitions & take actions <a href="http://www.sacbds.org/petitions">www.sacbds.org/petitions</a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>