Coalition launches website grading Arizona legislators on boycott protections

The Arizona Right to Dissent Coalition announced the launch of a new website, the Freedom Index Tracker, at a virtual press conference Tuesday morning, offering everyday citizens the opportunity to understand where their elected officials stand on protecting their First Amendment right to engage in political boycotts.

Created to grade states and their legislators on the protection of boycott rights, the website provides detailed information on relevant bills and how representatives voted on them.

While the goal is to expand this out to all 50 states, only Arizona’s page is currently populated. It has an F grade based on a methodology that assesses the state legislature's enactment or expansion of anti-boycott or anti-divestment legislation.

The Arizona Right to Dissent Coalition comprises 15 organizations focused on free speech, religious rights and solidarity with Palestine. A banner at the top of the Freedom Index Tracker homepage credits both the coalition and the Catch Fire Movement — based out of northern Arizona — for the project.

Eva Putzova, cofounder of Catch Fire Movement and lead of the coalition, shared during the virtual presser how the Freedom Index Tracker uses a detailed, nonpartisan methodology to determine its grades.

“We want not only reporters to use this, but also voters [so they can] communicate with their representatives and understand their voting history,” Putzova said.

The grades featured on the website specifically relate to legislators’ votes on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a Palestinian liberation-led movement that promotes nonviolent boycotts against the state of Israel.

According to the website, since 2014, at least 38 states have passed laws that condition public contracts and investments on contractors who certify they will not boycott a specified foreign country in order to do business with their own state government — the opposite of what the BDS movement calls for businesses to do.

Thabet Khalidi, an attorney and human rights activist from Tucson, emphasized the importance of boycotts, citing historical examples like the Montgomery bus boycott.

“Boycotts work, and that is exactly why some people want to ban them,” Khalidi said. “You do not move to outlaw a tactic that does not threaten power. You outlaw the ones that do.”

Khalidi mentioned HB 2617, an Arizona law signed in 2016 by then-Gov. Doug Ducey, which prevents the state from contracting with any business that boycotts Israel.

“The government should not make you sign a loyalty oath about what you believe,” Khalidi said. “That is compelled speech. It is not freedom.”

According to Steven Piasecki, a member of Catch Fire Movement, the website’s user interface design prioritizes accessible information and ease of use. Upon opening the website, a pop-up asks whether the user would like a tour of the Freedom Index Tracker’s features, which takes about a minute.

“The goal is to have this be an interactive element that people can filter through and find the information they're looking for,” Piasecki said.

Users can sort information by legislative chamber, political party or grade. Clicking on any legislator also opens a window displaying their individual votes and contact information.

Currently, only Arizona’s page is fully populated on the website. According to Putzova, the timeline for adding other states to the website is unclear and depends on volunteer time and funding.

River Graziano is a freelance journalist for CALÓ News. They grew up in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix and later attended ASU in Tempe, where they spent two years as an editor at The State Press. Their reporting with CALÓ News covers advocacy efforts impacting Latine communities across the Valley.