As New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order against the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, Jewish groups applauded the move to limit the campaign’s power.
Advertisement
“I was privileged to join Gov. Andrew Cuomo this morning in Manhattan where he once again took decisive action and demonstrated his steadfast commitment to the safety and security of the Jewish community both in NY and worldwide”.
The United Jewish Appeal in NY praised the governor for standing with Israel.
In an Executive Order dated June 5, Cuomo pledges to create a list of organisations that are engaged in BDS, and directs any state bodies to divest money from the organisations accordingly.
“It’s frightening to think there could be NY state employees scouring the internet for pro-BDS Facebook posts, tweets and news articles, and blacklisting individuals based on their political viewpoints”, Rahul Saksena, a staff attorney at non-profit advocacy organization Palestine Legal, told Salon in January. The list will be available to the public and be based on “credible information”.
He said BDS proponents “claim responsibility for significant damage to Israeli business interests; and they use threats of withdrawal of financial support to coerce companies to cease or refuse to engage in business interests with or in the state of Israel, its nationals, and its residents, as well as with other persons who are Jewish or who do business with persons who are Jewish”.
The Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel photographed in November 2014.
Cuomo, a Democrat, criticized elements of his party that have taken stands perceived as being against Israel.
But Sekulow said in recent months, his organization has “briefed legislators from more than 30 states about BDS”. But it didn’t take long for other Democrats to lash out at the executive order.
Unity Day, sponsored by the UJA-Federation of NY and the Gesher organization, aims to promote global Jewish unity and peoplehood.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) was launched in 2005 and aims to put economic and political pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Palestine. “BDS is not just working”, Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of the campaign, told Bloomberg. Speaking to The New York Times, via email he called New York’s new pro-Israel order “as legal warfare against B.D.S.” and that this kind of support “shields Israel from accountability”.
“By signing this executive order today, the governor sends a strong message to the entire country – NY will continue to stand with the state of Israel and the Jewish people, and protect our shared national interests”.
Legal experts have described this long pending anti-boycott policy as “21st-century McCarthyism”, warning it would effectively create a discriminatory “blacklist” of Palestinian human rights advocates who endorse boycotts like those organized in order to combat US -backed apartheid in South Africa.
“Boycotts have always been a tactic of social justice movement to bring about urgently needed change for a more just and equal society, and the movement for Palestinian rights should not be singled out”, she said.
Advertisement
Cuomo has recently made a habit of expressing political solidarity by banning people from doing things.
