NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD

“An organization of lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers... in the service of the people, to the end that
human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests.” Preamble to the NLG Constitution

November 21, 2018

Dear Representative-Elect Tlaib,

The National Lawyers Guild welcomes your clear, outspoken support for Palestinian rights, as well as
your principled stand supporting the right of Americans to engage in boycott, divestment and sanctions
(BDS) as a nonviolent means of putting pressure on Israel until it complies with international law. BDS
enables everyone in the United States to take collective action against injustice. While your position
acknowledges the right to boycott as protected First Amendment speech, we urge you to go one step
further and, in line with Representative-Elect Ilhan Omar, endorse the Palestinian-initiated call for
BDS

We know that you are familiar with NLG and our decades-long work to ensure that human rights are
regarded as more sacred than property interests. We appreciate the incredible work you did as
Community Partnerships and Development Director of the NLG-affiliated Sugar Law Center. Because
much of your work there was centered on the local Detroit community, you may be less familiar with
the work that NLG does on Palestine. NLG has long put a substantial focus on the pursuit of justice
and accountability for Palestinians living under brutal Israeli military occupation with no end in sight;
those subjected to severe discrimination inside Israel; and the millions of refugees denied their
inalienable right to return. We have sent numerous fact-finding delegations to Israel and the occupied
Palestinian territory and written reports on grave human rights violations against Palestinians. We
believe BDS is one of the most effective means to support the struggle to end Israel’s colonial
oppression of Palestinians.

We urge you not only to continue to stand firm in support of the right to boycott but also to use your
powerful and visible position to support the U.S.-based movement for Palestinian rights that is
increasingly targeted by unconstitutional anti-BDS measures, including federal legislation. If the Israel
Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act do not get through this year, they will likely be re-
introduced in the next Congress.

Please do not hesitate to let us know if we can be of any support and/or assistance to you in this regard.

Best regards,

Elena Cohen
President, National Lawyers Guild

Huwaida Arraf
Co-Chair, Palestine Subcommittee, National Lawyers Guild

Contact: Huwaida Arraf, huwaida.arraf@gmail.com

Elena Cohen, NLG President (New York) – president@nlg.org

Law for the People since 1937

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