U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is expected to announce on Wednesday his backing of an anti-BDS resolution, reported Jewish Insider.
The measure, introduced by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), states its objection over “efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.”
“I strongly support this resolution and firmly oppose the BDS movement targeting Israel. S.Res.120 is led by Senator Cardin and Senator Portman, and I proudly join the bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives pushing for its passage,” Schumer told Jewish Insider.
Introduced in March to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the resolution has “at least 60 co-sponsors, including 24 Democrats,” per Jewish Insider.
The U.S. House of Representatives version—spearheaded by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) and Ann Wagner (R-Mo.)—has more than 300 co-sponsors.
“I have long believed that the BDS effort is a profoundly biased campaign to delegitimize the state of Israel, and I look forward to Congress passing the resolution with overwhelming bipartisan support,” said Schumer.
The resolution also mentions support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In February, the Senate passed a bipartisan legislative package on Tuesday that allows state and local governments the right to punish state or local contractors from engaging in boycotting Israel.
The Combating BDS Act has sparked opposition from Democrats and the American Civil Liberties Union, which has said that it would violate the First Amendment.
The bill has stalled in the lower chamber, where House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said last month that it will go forwards “in the relatively near future.”
“The [House Foreign Affairs Committee] is considering this, and I expect to be moving something out of the committee in the relatively near future,” he said during a press briefing in the Capitol.
In February, Hoyer told JNS something similar: “[House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman] Eliot Engel and I are talking about it, and hopefully, we’ll move something soon.”
House Republicans launched a discharge petition by collecting signatures from House members to force a vote on the anti-BDS legislation. At least 218 signatures from House members is required to enable such a vote. With 197 Republicans currently in the chamber, 21 Democrats are needed for the petition to succeed.
