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Biden's Unconstitutional Sanctions on Supporters of Israel
(Wall Street Journal) Prof. Eugene Kontorovich - While the Biden administration has been easing sanctions on Iran over the past year, it is using a recent executive order to impose unprecedented sanctions on Jews in Israel who disagree with the administration's policies. The sanctions violate the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens in Israel and their supporters in America. This week an American Christian Zionist nonprofit, Texans for Israel, and several American Jews living in Israel filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas challenging the sanctions regime on free-speech, due-process and equal-protection grounds. Biden's executive order permits the imposition of sanctions on anyone the administration regards as involved in undermining "peace" or "stability" in the West Bank - even if there is no allegation of criminal conduct or violence. This directive is far-reaching because the administration deems Jews merely living in the West Bank as "obstacles to peace." An internal administration memo described the sanctions as targeted at those who "disrupt or prevent efforts to achieve a two-state solution." When the U.S. government imposes sanctions on an individual, his bank accounts and those of his immediate family will be frozen. Anyone who provides any "funds, goods, or services" to them may in turn be subjected to sanctions as well. These are harsh measures typically reserved for terrorists and dictators. A different administration down the line could freeze the bank accounts of Americans who support left-wing Israeli groups simply by deeming their activities bad for peace and stability in the West Bank. Sanctions have never been used to silence policy disagreements like this. Palestinian terror is rampant in Judea and Samaria. In the first half of 2023, Palestinians murdered 28 Israelis and wounded 362. Violent acts by Jews are a tiny fraction of those committed by Palestinians against Jews, and they are almost overwhelmingly property crimes. Yet no Palestinian terrorists have been sanctioned under this order. The writer is a professor at George Mason University Law School and a member of the plaintiffs' legal team.