BDS Movement
News about economic and academic attacks against the Jewish state
Pro-BDS bills “stand no chance of success. State capitals are a far more functional place right now than Washington, D.C., and states have compelling economic interests to defend their own state economy,” said Joseph Sabag, CEO of the Israeli-American Coalition for Action.
“There are few things as difficult and intractable as Middle East politics, and the presence of Israeli settlements in the West Bank raises difficult, deeply felt and sensitive political issues,” wrote Justice Anne Mactavish.
The New York congresswoman was also one of 17 members to vote against last week’s House resolution condemning BDS.
“The bottom line is that [he] chose not to stand with his colleagues and speak out, in one voice, against BDS,” said Republican Jewish Coalition spokesperson Neil Strauss. “This resolution did not appropriate a single taxpayer dollar; it didn’t infringe on a single citizen’s civil rights.”
CNN host Jake Tapper asked the congresswoman about “criticism of you from fellow Democrats, especially for your support for the BDS movement … an anti-Israel movement.”
Pro-boycott activists reportedly sent lead singer Jon Bon Jovi more than 5,000 letters urging the band to cancel the show.
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) defended her vote condemning the anti-Israel BDS movement—a split from the so-called “Squad” that includes Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Still, in the fight for civil rights, he emphasizes not to be overly alarmist, even on college campuses, where more opportunities are available to Jewish students than ever before.
“I would like to commend the U.S. House of Representatives for overwhelmingly approving, by a great bipartisan majority, Democrats and Republicans alike, a decision against boycotts against Israel,” said Netanyahu in a video on Twitter.
“The House voted 398-17 in favor of an anti-BDS resolution written by Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider. That’s a stunning show of bipartisan opposition to BDS and support for Israel,” Democratic Majority for Israel CEO Mark Mellman told JNS.
“A municipality is using taxpayer money to show a widely rejected ‘documentary’ narrated by a notorious anti-Semite that peddles anti-Semitic canards,” said JCRC executive director Ronald Halber. “They should be bringing people together, not dividing them.”
A pro-BDS bill by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was widely seen as a move to push back against U.S. laws banning the boycott of Israel. Co-sponsorship by U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) adds credibility to the resolution, which will likely face stiff opposition in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.
