“pedophile” immigrants.

In a letter to the Senate, the ACLU expressed its opposition to the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, and urged lawmakers to oppose and refrain from cosponsoring the bill because it punishes people and businesses for their political beliefs, a violation of the First Amendment. The organization does not take a stand on boycotts against Israel or any country. “The bill would amend those laws to bar U.S. persons from supporting boycotts against Israel, including its settlements in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, conducted by international governmental organizations, such as the United Nations and the European Union. It would also broaden the law to include penalties for simply requesting information about such boycotts,” read the letter from Faiz Shakir, ACLU National Political Director. Shakir added that under the bill, onlythose whose lack of business dealings with Israel is politically motivated are subject to penalties, even though many others also do not do business with Israel.

The conservative National Review came out against the bill as well, calling it “unconstitutional and unconscionable.” The author of the commentary, Noah Daponte-Smith, argued the supporters of the measure “should be, quite frankly, ashamed of themselves; they have lost sight of one of the founding principles of American government, allowing it to be overshadowed by the spectral world of the Israeli–Palestinian dispute.”

Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, who authored the bill, told The Intercept he is open to amending it to address these concerns, while claiming the ACLU misinterpreted the legislation. The organization stood by its interpretation in a Washington Post op-ed.

The BDS movement