ADC Goes to Court to Defend Medford, MA Residents’ Democratic Will

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 31, 2026

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Medford, MA | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), alongside local counsel Micah-Shalom Kesselman, are asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to allow Medford residents to defend a divestment ordinance they fought to help pass. The case has significant consequences for local democracy, civil liberties, and communities’ ability to withdraw public funds from investment in companies or entities engaged in severe human rights violations. The proposed intervenors include more than ten Medford residents and municipal taxpayers who advocated for the ordinance and helped secure its passage.

At the center of the case is a fundamental question about democracy: when residents organize, participate in local government, and secure passage of a duly enacted ordinance, can outside interests use the courts to override that decision while the government responsible for enforcing the law declines to meaningfully defend it?

After  the ordinance passed, a pro-Israel group sued to block it, arguing that it intruded on the purview of the federal executive branch to make foreign policy. The Mayor made clear that he did not intend to defend the ordinance. After it passed, his attempted veto was overridden by the City Council. He later declined to oppose a preliminary injunction and hired a law firm that had publicly denounced the Divestment Ordinance. Thus, the intervenors whom ADC is representing have no choice but to make every effort to uphold the Ordinance by participating in the litigation.

Both the City and the Plaintiffs oppose our Intervention.

For ADC, the case reflects a broader pattern in which efforts to shield Israel from political accountability are being used to narrow Americans’ civil rights, suppress protected political activity, and weaken our democracy.

“This is a challenge to America’s democracy,” said ADC President and Legal Director Jenin Younes. “Medford residents did exactly what Americans are told democracy requires of them: they organized, participated in their local government, and secured passage of an ordinance governing how their own public money should be invested. Now, pro-Israel groups are trying to use the courts to supersede the political process.”

“For years, the pro-Israel lobby has pushed government institutions to treat Palestine as an exception to ordinary constitutional protections,” Younes continued. “We have seen it with free speech, protest, academic freedom, and due process. Now we are seeing that same pressure reach democratic self-government itself. Every time civil rights or civil liberties are weakened to shield Israel from criticism or accountability, the damage is done to American democracy. And what’s most stunning here is that the entity tasked with enforcing this law is taking the side of its opponents. That’s why our involvement is necessary.”

“Americans have a long tradition of using their economic choices to express their political values, including through divestment and boycott campaigns,” said ADC Staff Attorney Malak Afaneh. “Medford residents organized through lawful democratic channels to decide how their public funds should be invested. If that decision can be challenged in court while the government responsible for defending it stands aside, the residents who fought for it deserve a voice in that litigation. The implications extend well beyond Palestine.”

ADC will continue challenging efforts by pro-Israel political interests and government actors to erode Americans’ constitutional rights in the name of protecting Israel from accountability. Palestine and opposition to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East cannot become the exception through which free speech, civil liberties, and democratic self-government are steadily weakened. The rights at stake belong to all Americans.

The case is Chertok v. City of Medford, Case No. 1:26-cv-10589-GAO.

Visit adc.org/legal to learn more about ADC’s legal work.

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About ADC

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is the largest Arab American grassroots organization in the United States, founded in 1980 by former Senator James Abourezk.  ADC’s mission is to defend and promote the human rights, civil rights, and liberties of at least 3.7 million Arab Americans residing in the United States. Through its work, ADC fights discrimination, enhances public understanding of Arab history and culture, and partners with marginalized communities globally to advance social justice.