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House bill introduced to penalize international entities for engaging in BDS

The bill has 59 co-sponsors, including one Democrat, Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York.

Congress Capitol Hill Washington DC
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

A bill introduced on Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives would penalize international organizations that boycott Israel.

Introduced by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), the Israel Anti-Boycott Act would expand the 1979 Export Administration Act “to prohibit boycotts or requests for boycotts imposed by international governmental organizations against Israel,” said Zeldin in a statement.

“This legislation would not only reinforce Congress’ opposition to the BDS movement, but protects American companies from being forced to provide information to international organizations that peddle this hate-filled movement, and holds those who attempt to violate that protection accountable,” he said.

The bill has 59 co-sponsors, including one Democrat, Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York.

A separate bill to combat BDS passed the Senate last year but has stalled in the House.

The Islamic Republic wrote that U.S. and Israeli vessels, and those of “other participants in the aggression” don’t “qualify for innocent or non-hostile passage” through the vital energy corridor.
“When hate-driven narratives are allowed to masquerade as neutral information, the consequences extend far beyond Wikipedia itself,” Yfat Barak-Cheney of the WJC stated.
“The convergence of ideologically, politically and religiously motivated violent extremist threats to the Jewish community and, by extension, Jewish public officials drives this elevated threat,” the report said.

At a U.S. State Department gathering of first spouses, Netanyahu urged leaders to condemn online harassment of minors.
“We’ve won this,” the U.S. president said. “This war has been won.”
The legislation would expand federal database access and require schools to submit a list of all individuals on visas.