An un-American law

The First Amendment categorically protects freedom of speech, the press, religion, assembly, and the right to petition the government. Thus, any politically-motivated law that aims to curb the foundational principles of American egalitarianism is ultra vires, reflecting a bias that has crept into and compromised the values of democracy and freedom.

The bill, which passed 237–169 in favour of the "Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act", is meant to penalise citizens and foreign students who have been protesting Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.

The recent bloodbath in Gaza at the hands of the Zionist state resulted in the killing of more than 73,000 Palestinians and the displacement of over a million from the besieged enclave. The ICJ had ruled that Israeli measures are tantamount to genocide, and cannot be condoned under any canons of civilised society.

The flip side, however, is that the Trump White House, alongside a majority of Congressmen and Senators, see such pro-Palestinian voices as anti-Semitic and extremist in essence. They are out to quell them at the cost of degrading American values of free speech and association.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement underway across the length and breadth of the United States is a civil movement advocating for the protection of life and property for hapless and homeless Palestinians.

While conscientious communities on campuses are out to defend the oppressed, the US Congress - acting as a 'Knesset' across the Atlantic - is shamefully undermining its own oath of loyalty to the law of the land and the Constitution.