In February, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that declared a "national emergency" in response to "high levels of extremist settler violence" in the West Bank and imposed economic sanctions on "persons undermining peace, security, and stability" there. Although he emphasized the threat posed by attacks on Palestinian civilians, his order extended much further, encompassing "any foreign person" whom the secretary of state or the secretary of the treasury deems "complicit" in actions that "threaten the peace, security, or stability of the West Bank." Because the order prohibits "the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services" to a designated individual, it also applies to U.S. citizens.
According to a federal lawsuit that the Christian Zionist organization Texans for Israel filed this week, the broad sweep of those sanctions violates the First Amendment by punishing peaceful advocacy and activism. Biden's order "makes it sanctionable for a person to 'directly or indirectly' harm 'peace, security, or stability of the West Bank,'" says the complaint, which was filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. "This open-ended and vague provision empowers the Office of Foreign Assets Control within the Department of Treasury ('OFAC') to sanction anyone who acts contrary to what the Secretary of the Treasury determines advances the cause of 'peace, security, or stability of the West Bank.' This violates the First Amendment."
