September 28, 2004
Contact: (212) 481-1500
Attn: NEWS EDITOR

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO COMMERCE DEPT: ANTI-ISRAEL
DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGNS VIOLATE U.S. ANTI-BOYCOTT LAWS

NEW YORK- A bipartisan group of thirteen Members of Congress has sent
a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce, urging the shutdown of
anti-Israel divestment campaigns, because they violate U.S. laws regarding
the Arab boycott of Israel.

The letter was initiated by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).
It was led by U.S. Representatives Jim Saxton (R-NJ) and Rob Andrews (D-NJ),
and also signed by Representatives Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Pete Sessions
(R-TX), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Michael McNulty (D-NY), Peter King (R-NY),
Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU), Martin Frost (D-TX), Philip Crane (R-IL), Shelley
Berkley (D-NV), Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO).

The letter, which was sent to the Commerce Department's Office of
Anti-boycott Compliance, noted that by urging Americans to divest their
holdings in companies doing business with Israel, the divestment organizers
are illegally "furnishing information about U.S. companies that have
business relationships in or with Israel, and specifically advocate that
these companies be boycotted." Such actions are "expressly prohibited by
the anti-boycott provisions of the Export Administration Act, which were
enacted in response to congressional concerns about the Arab boycott of
Israel."

The Congressional letter noted that divestment supporters are actively
promoting the boycott of Israel on the internet and have launched divestment
campaigns on more than thirty college campuses, including the University of
California at Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The divestment campaign "poses serious economic consequences for our
country," the letter pointed out, noting that according to the Office of the
U.S. Trade Representative, the Arab boycott of Israel is a "substantive
impediment" to U.S. trade and investment. "The financial future of U.S.
companies and the status of our country's international trade ... are at
stake."

The Congressmembers urged the Office of Anti-boycott Compliance to
"investigate the national boycott campaign against Israel, shut down the
illegal divestment campaigns, and impose the appropriate penalties."

The letter added that the issue is "urgent" because a national student
divestment conference is scheduled to be held at Duke University on October
15, 2004.

Susan B. Tuchman, director of the ZOA's Center for Law and Justice,
which has been active on this issue, said: "These thirteen Members of
Congress are to be commended for their forthright and principled stand
against the divestment proponents, who are violating U.S. law by illegally
promoting economic warfare against America's ally, Israel."
* * *
The Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1897, is the oldest
pro-Israel organization in the United States. The ZOA works to strengthen
U.S.-Israel relations, educates the American public and Congress about the
dangers that Israel faces, and combats anti-Israel bias in the media and on
college campuses. Its past presidents have included Supreme Court Justice
Louis Brandeis and Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver.