In addition, investing in Israel Bonds clearly violates Article IX of the US Constitution which requires the states to uphold all ratified international treaties. Since Israel Bonds are used for projects recognized by the United States Government as illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention, which is a ratified international treaty, the SBI may not invest in them.
These
are not political questions and none of the six "Baker factors" apply. The SBI
is violating the law.
MN BBC filed and briefed an appeal. A three-judge panel of the Appeals Court will hear the case on September 27 in St. Paul, the same day that the Palestinian Authority will seek statehood recognition from the United Nations General Assembly.
The record has not been good for getting the Palestinian side of the story out to the public, to legislators, or to the courts. Palestinians have been historically vilified in the US in the zeal to show favoritism to Israel. If it is so difficult for US citizens to gain recognition of a lawsuit filed in a state court on behalf of Palestinians harmed by illegal occupation, a pattern of ethnic cleansing and a recognized system of apartheid, how much harder must it be for Palestinians themselves to find justice? It is essential that those working on the side of human rights and justice continue to work to break through these walls of silence.
______________________
[1]
Luyendijk, Joris Uitgeverij People Like Us: Misrepresenting the Middle
East, Podium, Holland, 2006.
[2]
Dunsky, Marda, Pens and Swords: How the American Mainstream Media Report the
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Columbia University Press, New York
2008.
[3] The Baker factors
are as follows: (1) a textually demonstrable constitutional commitment to a
coordinate political department; (2) a lack of judicially discoverable and
manageable standards for resolving it; (3) the impossibility of deciding
without an initial policy determination of a kind clearly for nonjudicial
discretion; (4) the impossibility of a court's undertaking independent
resolution without expressing lack of the respect due coordinate branches of
government; (5) an unusual need for unquestioning adherence to a political
decision already made; or (6) the potentiality of embarrassment from
multifarious pronouncements by various departments on one question.
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