Photo credit: Yaseen Najeeb

Carla Rattunde, Rep. Angelito Tenorio (D-Milwaukee), Sandy Pasch, Jewish Voice for Peace MKE and Janan Najeeb, co-chair of Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine

Community leaders and members gathered at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Wednesday, April 23rd for a long day of lobbying to repeal Wisconsin’s anti-boycott legislation, 2017 Wisconsin Act 248 (also known as Assembly Bill 553). Signed into law by former Governor Scott Walker, Act 248 requires local government agencies and state contracts receiving over $100,000 to pledge not to engage in an academic, cultural, or political boycott of Israel. Act 248 passed with a voice vote at the time, despite many speaking out against it.

Wisconsin is one of 38 states with an anti-boycott law in place. These laws derive from model legislation by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization of conservative legislators and private interest representatives that networks with lobbyists.

The newly formed action group Wisconsin Right to Boycott (WRTB), in collaboration with the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, organized the lobbying day. Over 100 people visited Democratic and Republican officials to achieve bipartisan support for a repeal of Act 248.