Copy, Paste Legislate a collaboration between USA Today, The Arizona Republic and The Center for Public Integrity

The front lines in a bitter debate between Israel’s defenders and critics lie in an unexpected place: state capitals across America.  

Palestinian rights activists calling for people to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel have racked up policy victories over the past 14 years across the globe and in the USA, particularly on university campuses. 

In response, pro-Israel advocates have taken the battle to state legislatures, where their lobbyists worked with sympathetic lawmakers to shut down an effort they said threatens the existence of a Jewish state. 

A rapid succession of states – 27 in four years – adopted measures to curb the initiative known as BDS. 

These new laws and executive orders were crafted by activists, then copied from one state to the next and adopted with virtually identical language. Most require tens of thousands of state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel or lose their government funding. Other efforts require state pension boards to divest from companies that boycott Israel.