The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD) sent an open letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 19 October 2026, requesting that the United States pressure Lebanon to repeal its 1955 Boycott Law. This legislation criminalizes all social and business ties with Israel. In the letter, the AMCD stated, "The law is not only impractical; it has become a tool for politicized prosecutions of those who advocate peace." The organization further argued against providing financial support to the Lebanese state while these statutes remain active. "American taxpayers should not underwrite a government that criminalizes the pursuit of peace," the coalition noted in its message to Secretary Rubio. The AMCD maintains that the current legal framework in Lebanon prevents regional normalization and cooperation.
Legal Challenges and Political Prosecution
Tom Harb, a co-chair of the American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD) and an American citizen born in Lebanon, faced a summons to appear before a Lebanese military court. The AMCD addressed this incident in its 19 October 2026 open letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stating, "One of AMCD’s own co-chairs, Tom Harb, an American citizen born in Lebanon, was summoned to appear before the Lebanese military court, as have so many others. Americans should not face criminal charges abroad for speech that is protected at home." The organization utilized this specific case to illustrate how the 1955 Boycott Law is applied against individuals who maintain ties or advocate for positions that conflict with the established legal framework in Beirut.
Policy shifts regarding financial and military assistance form the core of the coalition's demands in its communication with Washington. The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy is calling for the United States to condition all future financial and military support provided to Lebanon on the formal repeal of the 1955 law. By tying the provision of state aid to the removal of these statutes, the group seeks to compel a change in Lebanese policy that would permit business and social interactions with Israel. The organization maintains that the current distribution of American taxpayer funds to the Lebanese government is incompatible with the continued existence of laws that criminalize peace-oriented advocacy and cross-border relations.
Regional security cooperation represents another primary objective for the American Mideast Coalition for Democracy. The organization advocates for the establishment of formal communication channels between the Israeli military and the Lebanese military. Proponents of this measure within the coalition argue that such direct institutional contact would serve as a necessary component for regional stability and long-term normalization. By facilitating these military-to-military links, the AMCD suggests that the two nations could move toward a framework that bypasses the restrictive nature of the 1955 Boycott Law. The coalition presented this proposal as part of its broader platform for transforming bilateral relations between Lebanon and Israel, emphasizing that the absence of such channels hinders the potential for cooperation on shared regional security concerns.
