Pro-Israel US lawmakers demand FBI probe of BDS ‘terrorism’ links

Three US Republican lawmakers well-known for their ties with the country’s infamous pro-Israel lobby groups have reportedly called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to probe purported links between the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) and terrorism.

In a letter sent to FBI’s Counterterrorism Division and cosigned by Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett, along with Florida Representatives Greg Steube and Maria Salazar, the three lawmakers claimed “serious concerns” that Americans donating funds to organizations affiliated with the increasingly popular Boycott-Israel campaign could be financing “terrorist groups,” the US-based Mondoweiss online news outlet reported Friday.

According to the report, the letter further cited the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) to falsely claim that they are linked to what they referred to as "designated terror groups" such as the popular Palestinian resistance movements, Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad – both based in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip.

Burchett also sent a similar letter last March to Attorney General Merrick Garland as well as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, calling on them to investigate the fundraising app ActBlue for allegedly funneling money to what he described as “terrorists.”

The report then pointed out that US President Joe Biden has also expressed his opposition to the BDS movement in a Twitter post, saying: "I agree. We must stand with our ally Israel."

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It further highlighted the depth of Burchett's commitment to the Israeli regime and his hatred against groups campaigning to boycott Israeli products as well as corporations doing business with the Tel Aviv regime, citing his 2018 interview with a pro-Israeli Jewish journal in which he said such groups “totally disgust me… I remain loyal to Israel."

The development came nearly three months after a US federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the pro-Israeli Jewish National Fund -- along with 12 American citizens living in Israel -- targeting the BNC and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) for purported links to terrorism.

The judge in the case, however, insisted that the claims made in the lawsuit were “to say the least, not persuasive.”

Such legal actions are frequently waged and financed across the US by pro-Israeli lobby groups in attempts to bog down pro-Palestinian organizations and stifle support for movements such as the BDS.

“The smearing of human rights advocates as terrorists is a troublingly common and dangerous tactic. The JNF’s complaint perversely cites our clients’ human rights advocacy in an attempt to support their ultimately fruitless effort to hijack US courts,” explained CCR staff attorney Diala Shamas in a statement issued following the dismissal of the lawsuit.

“We are glad the court did not let these meritless claims stand, and we hope this marks a turning point that discourages private actors seeking to weaponize terrorism laws to silence their critics,” she added.

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Burchett is among hundreds of other US lawmakers politically financed by the powerful Pro-Israeli lobby and regularly offered all-paid tours of the Israeli-occupied territories for free vacations as well as consultations with Tel Aviv officials on how to push through domestic and Middle East policy legislations in the US Congress that would best serve Israeli interests.

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