A growing coalition of activists, civil rights groups, and concerned citizens is pushing back against anti-boycott laws in the Midwest, which they say are eroding fundamental freedoms. Organizers are starting with efforts to repeal such legislation in Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin. These states have come under scrutiny for enforcing laws — often passed quietly — that penalize contractors or companies that refuse to do business with Israel or Israeli settlements, measures that critics argue are a direct attack on First Amendment rights and a dangerous expansion of government overreach. So far, 38 states have passed laws or executive orders penalizing boycotts of Israel.
“It’s a very dangerous experiment in speech restriction and the ability to peacefully protest,” said Sheri Maali, a member of the Illinois Coalition for Human Rights.
“First they came for the companies, now they’re directly coming to students and faculties on college campuses”, she continued. “So it’s a slippery slope.”
In Illinois, two Democratic legislators, state Sen. Michael Porfirio and state Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, who is the only Palestinian American serving in the state House, introduced legislation to repeal the original 2015 anti-boycott law.
Organizers from Wisconsin Right to Boycott highlighted how anti-boycott laws are stifling mass resistance at a time when collective action is most needed. The group gathered on April 23 at the state capitol to lobby their representatives in support of new legislation to restore the right to boycott.
“In a recent Guardian Op-Ed, Al Sharpton called on Americans to engage in mass boycotts as a method of resistance,” a press release from the organization reads. “The Civil Rights Era boycotts he points to are inspiring, but the truth is that harnessing this form of collective action is challenging in [38] states that have anti-boycott laws.”
Since 2015, a coordinated effort led by conservative think tanks such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and supported by pro-Israel lobbying groups has resulted in legislation across dozens of states requiring individuals, businesses, or organizations seeking state contracts to pledge not to boycott Israel.
The issue has also grown beyond Israel. In many states, it is also prohibited to boycott the fossil fuel industry, the firearm industry, or companies that refuse to provide reproductive health benefits or gender-affirming care. At the federal level, Reps. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., reintroduced anti-BDS legislation on April 16, modeled after state laws.
“Boycotts have been extremely successful; they helped end apartheid in South Africa, they helped end Jim Crow policies in the South,” said Julia Greenberg, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace Madison. “We know that this is historically a successful tactic. And so it bothers me that there’s restrictions on a peaceful form of protest that is protected as free speech by the Supreme Court and in our Constitution.”
Illinois became the first state to pass anti-boycott legislation in 2015. For Maali, a Palestinian American, the moment was both shocking and deeply personal.
“I remember in 2015 when the bill was passed, I was shocked,” Maali said. “Why are we punishing people for standing against human rights violations?”
The law in Illinois created a state committee to monitor corporate compliance. Major companies like Unilever—the parent company of ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s — were punished after refusing to sell products in illegal Israeli settlements, costing them millions in state pension investments. Airbnb and Netflix also faced threats.
“It’s not good fiscally for Illinois,” Maali noted. “We’re hurting ourselves. We should care more about how we can bring more money to the state of Illinois, more jobs.”
In Minnesota, organizers are similarly sounding the alarm. Bob Goonin, a key member of the state’s Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) coalition, has been working to overturn the state’s law requiring any contractor with a public contract over $50,000 to pledge not to boycott Israel.
“The first [problem with the law] is that it’s a violation of people’s First Amendment free speech,” Goonin said. “The right to boycott is constitutionally protected and goes back to the founding of the country, the Montgomery bus boycott, the farm workers’ grape boycotts.”
“It really should be a person’s personal and political right to decide who they do and do not want to boycott,” he continued. “It puts people in a position where they either support their own livelihood or they have to sign a statement that they may not believe.”
Jewish activists are also leading the charge. Sandy Pasch, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace–Milwaukee, voiced her unwavering opposition to anti-boycott laws, emphasizing that criticism of Israel’s policies should not be equated with antisemitism. Pasch, who was a Wisconsin legislator at the time the state’s anti-BDS law was introduced, explained that it came in under the radar without much protest around it.
“For decades, Palestinians have been living in an apartheid state. … Since October 2023, we have been witnessing a genocide,” Pasch said in an email. “I, and many thousands of other Jews, are filled with grief and rage, especially when our Jewish faith is, by default, falsely conflated with being pro-Israel. … This is not anti-Semitic. Rather, this is a conscientious response, incorporating our Jewish value that every life is precious.”
Activists warn that anti-boycott laws are just one tool in a broader crackdown on dissent. From employment contracts to immigration proceedings, critics argue that the laws have set a dangerous precedent. In South Florida, Florida Statute 287.135 recently kept local artists from showing their work at an art exhibition if they participated in a boycott of Israel.
Back in Illinois, Maali said her husband’s company was asked to sign what looked like a basic anti-discrimination policy. But buried in the language was a line that essentially banned any criticism of Israel.
Maali also cited HB 3023, a recently blocked bill in Illinois drafted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which would have enabled wealthy individuals to sue advocates and potentially bankrupt them over peaceful protest activities.
“If I leave a flyer on someone’s car … if you felt you didn’t agree, you could take me to court [saying] you were threatened by this,” Maali said. “It’s a slippery slope, and we’re seeing that slowly, all our rights are being removed.”
Despite the setbacks, organizers say momentum is building. In Illinois, the repeal bill has more than a dozen co-sponsors, including moderates such as state Rep. Bob Rita and state Sen. Ram Villivalam. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, grassroots coalitions are actively lobbying legislators, organizing public education campaigns, and mobilizing voters.
“Let’s just take this off the books and go back to neutral,” Maali said.
Organizers hope that if Illinois, where anti-boycott legislation all began, can successfully repeal its law, other states will follow.
“I can only hope and pray that [a domino effect] happens,” Maali said. “We set the law, if we can get the law off the books, other states can follow,”
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