On February 1, 2024 Biden issued an Executive Order to deal with the high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction impacting Palestinians in the West Bank.
ANY foreign person or entity can be sanctioned at any moment without notice, and the actions covered are incredibly broad, including:
being complicit in settler violence
failing to enforce policies to protect Palestinians in the West Bank from settler violence,
any threats of violence targeting civilians in the West Bank or,
efforts to place civilians in the West Bank in reasonable fear of violence leading to them changing residence to avoid violence.
Foreign persons or companies don’t need to be engaged in terrorism or direct destruction of property to fall under this sanctions order (although that is covered too).
By providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to any person or entity blocked by this order, they can be sanctioned themselves.
That includes foreign persons who are CEOs, board directors, or other corporate or governmental officials of entities whose members have engaged in these actions, even if the CEO or the entity itself didn’t directly engage in these actions.
Foreign persons who are leaders of an entity that has engaged in such actions, or whose members have, can also be personally sanctioned, meaning their PERSONAL ASSETS can be frozen beyond the company's assets.
So such leaders of companies, you may want to pay attention. This means that your bank accounts, your vacation homes, your yachts, your investments, could all be frozen by the U.S. government so you can't use, buy, sell, or be paid, and any US person or entity with any US connection won't be allowed to pay you for any work as well.
While the Order doesn’t define “Foreign Persons”, OFAC has defined the term regarding Russia related sanctions as “any citizen or national of a foreign state (including any such individual who is also a citizen or national of the United States), or any entity not organized solely under the laws of the United States or existing solely in the United States, but does not include a foreign state.” (OFAC FAQ 545).
Importantly, note that Biden made sure to include foreign persons who are leaders or officials of “any government entity” as those who can be subjected to sanctions under this Order.
For everyone in the US, including not only corporations and CEOS, but regular individuals, small businesses, non-profits, unincorporated organizations and groups, know that Biden’s Feb 1 Executive Order against settler violence in the West Bank explicitly prohibits you making donations or contributing funds, goods, or services related to entities or persons sanctioned. (No Kyle Rittenhouse moment allowed here).
Reminder, that includes a huge range of potential actions, not just terrorism or direct violence, including:
being complicit in settler violence
failing to enforce policies to protect Palestinians in the West Bank from settler violence,
any threats of violence targeting civilians,
efforts to place civilians in reasonable fear of violence leading to them changing residence to avoid violence, or
providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to any person or entity blocked by the order.
Financially engaging with those that are limited by sanctions are treated as a serious threat by OFAC (the office that enforces sanctions) and violations range from civil penalties of thousands to MILLIONS of dollars per violation and/or prison time of up to 30 years.
For financial institutions, there's more than a handful who have paid over $1 BILLION dollars in fines for sanctions violations.
And remember, no prior notice is required before you get sanctioned, so you better make sure you're not putting everything at risk by supporting individuals, groups, or entities engaging in or being complicit in settler violence in the West Bank.
Time to use your voice to demand
the companies you are invested in,
the schools you attend(ed), and
your employer
are taking proactive measures to understand and ensure they aren’t about to be sanctioned.
If for example, their vendors, or foreign campuses, or board members, or students are supporting settler violence in any of the very broad ways defined in this order they are putting their assets at risk (including their ability to pay employees, because if their bank accounts are frozen they can't pay you).
And if they don't know if any aspect of their work or members or organization, including any foreign branches is or isn't involved in supporting settler violence in the West Bank then that's even worse.
As we've seen with Russia and Iran, the potential for this sanction order to disrupt supply chains, international trade, and foreign investment is SIGNIFICANT. Yet, hardly anyone has been speaking to this, so it's up to us--consumers, investors, employees, and students--to raise this issue and demand the relevant institutions are fulfilling their fiduciary duties and effectively saying NO to Settler Violence in the West Bank!
*This blog article provides information about the recent Executive Order, it is not and should not be considered legal advice. It is a summary of some of the potential implications, framed for greater readability to a non-legal audience, and does not include all components of the Order. For legal advice, you will need to consult an attorney about your particular situation to evaluate your specific risks and provide legal guidance. If you are a leader of a company you may want to raise this issue with your general counsel/in-house counsel/legal department to ask them what steps they are taking to address this new Order and its potential implications in your company. Your company’s attorneys work for the company itself not for any employee, so if you are concerned about your personal liability you may want to contact a lawyer to evaluate your specific situation.