‘I thought I was a free man’: the engineer fighting Texas’s ban on boycotting Israel | Texas

F.e Texan civil engineer Rasmy Hassouna has been a contractor for the city of Houston for more than two decades. Hassouna has consulted the city on soil volatility in the nearby Gulf of Mexico – a much-needed service to assess the structural stability of homes and other buildings.

He was preparing to renew his government contract when a certain legal clause caught his eye: a provision that effectively forbade him or his company A&R Engineering and Testing, Inc. from ever protesting against the nation of Israel or its products, as long as his company was a partner of the City of Houston.

It was a huge shock to Hassouna – a proud 59-year-old Palestinian American.

“I came here thinking I was a free man. It’s nobody’s business what I do or say as long as I don’t harm anyone, ”he told the Guardian. “Did you lie all along? If I don’t want to buy anything from WalMart, who are you to tell me not to buy from WalMart? Why do I have to swear allegiance to a foreign country? “

But Hassouna’s reaction didn’t stop with anger. He took action and opened a case calling into question Texas law and – for example – similar provisions that have spread across the United States aimed at preventing government contractors from boycotting Israel and those in more than 25 US states can be found. Along with the Arkansas Times newspaper, A&R Engineering and Testing Inc is now one of only two companies in the country fighting these types of laws.

Hassouna’s case – filed on his behalf by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – will be heard in federal court Tuesday and is based on the idea that such laws violate freedom of expression. If the 2019 ban on boycotting Israel is declared unconstitutional, it will be illegal in the state of Texas.

But Hassouna’s decision to sue is not without its price. It could cost him a significant portion of his annual revenue, his attorney said.

“You weren’t expecting Rasmy Hassouna from Gaza, whose family has suffered so much. He believes Americans have the right to boycott any foreign or domestic organization they want. That’s what he does – he puts his money where his mouth is, ”said Gadeir Abbas, a senior litigation attorney at CAIR who represents Hassouna.

Free Palestine advocates in Columbus, Ohio protested the Israeli occupation of Palestine and proposed boycotting companies and goods that support Israel on June 12, 2021. Photo: Stephen Zenner / SOPA Images / REX / Shutterstock

Hassouna first set foot on American soil in 1988. Like many immigrants, Hassouna had his first experience in the US with New York’s JFK airport. However, his final destination was the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, the university where he wanted to study civil engineering. “No matter how long it would take or how hard I had to work, I wanted to keep pursuing my goal,” he said.

As a Palestinian under Israeli occupation, Hassouna was not eligible for citizenship, so he had to seek permission from Israeli officials to leave his home in Gaza, an area designated by humanitarian organizations and politicians as an open-air prison.

“I went out every day for almost two months and took a taxi to central Gaza City. I gave [Israeli officials] my official application, my ID. I went to the gate and waited from 7am to 5pm. You see the months of June and July in the sun and just stand there. “

After two months, Hassouna finally secured the travel permit for his university studies in the USA. Since Palestine is not recognized as a state, he was not issued a passport but an Israeli travel document that amazed customs officials every step of the way.

When it was time for Hassouna to travel to the United States, his neighborhood in Gaza was put under curfew. This meant that he had to flee under cover of night if he was to make his escape. He remembered walking five miles behind his father with luggage in tow to his cousin’s house, an area just outside the designated curfew. That was the last time he saw his father, who died before they could see each other again.

Hassouna’s college experience was not dissimilar to that of most American students. He remembered living with three roommates and surviving on the modest scholarship of his teaching assistant position.

After graduation, Hassouna moved to Houston, Texas in August 1992. Despite having an extensive background in his field, Hassouna’s early career was uncertain and tumultuous. He worked odd jobs at a Stop N Go gas station and grocery store before becoming a technician.

“At that time I worked 11-7 in the supermarket and 8-5 in the company. One of my students [from South Dakota] was my boss, who made three or four times as much as me. She always came and asked me for advice. “

Eventually he was hired for an engineering position at another company with a starting salary of $ 24,000 – which he said was half what most engineers were making at the time.

Hassouna has come a long way since then. On the way there, he married and had two teenage sons. His mother died a few years after his father, but due to travel and visa restrictions to Gaza, Hassouna was unable to see her or attend the funeral. Hassouna became an American citizen in 2005. His birthplace, which was listed on his citizenship certificate, was “Israel,” a statement he objected to.

“I went to the lady who gave away the testimonies and told her that I didn’t want Israel on my testimony. She told me to go to immigration and they would take care of it. I explained to them that my birthplace was not Israel, but the Gaza Strip in Palestine. They told me, ‘Palestine is not in the system.’ “

Hassouna returned the certificate to the immigration officer and asked them to return his green card. He said he would rather not be a citizen than be called an Israeli from birth. After much deliberation, the immigration authorities admitted and sent him a new certificate with his place of birth “Gaza Strip”.

In 1999 he and his friend Alfred started their own company, A&R (Alfred and Rasmy) Engineering. Together they secured commissioned work for the city of Houston. Around 25 years later, Alfred sold his stake in the company to Hassouna, who is now the sole owner.

Now Hassouna’s loyalty to his homeland is being tested. After reading the most recent city contract, he wrote a letter to the city asking it to remove the clause prohibiting the Israeli boycott from the contract, arguing that it was its constitutional right to boycott Israel if he wished this. City officials said it was out of their control.

Now it’s in the hands of a judge. If things don’t go to Hassouna, he is more than willing to bear the financial consequences.

“I want to work with the city and every other government agency. The thing is, I want to do it with my freedom and dignity intact, ”he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/07/texas-ban-boycotting-israel