Bipartisan group reintroduces House legislation countering boycotts of Israel

A bipartisan group of U.S. House members reintroduced legislation to prevent the federal government from doing business with companies that support the movement to boycott Israel.

Sponsors said the bill would mirror anti-BDS laws in more than two-thirds of U.S. states and contended that the movement is antisemitic.

“The BDS movement promotes and normalizes antisemitism by singling out the world’s only Jewish state and targeting Israel’s economy,” stated Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), the measure’s chief sponsor.

“The United States should not support any entity that engages in or endorses such actions,” she said.

The measure was introduced in the last Congress, but no action was taken in either chamber.

“Taxpayer dollars should not be going towards groups that engage in antisemitic boycotts targeting Israel,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.). “The BDS movement is antisemitism, plain and simple, and this bill will ensure we’re using taxpayer dollars responsibly to stand up against hate and stand up for our ally Israel.”

Other sponsors include Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Ben Cline (R-Va.), Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), whose nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was withdrawn by U.S. President Donald Trump to guard against any erosion of the narrow Republican majority in the House.

“Americans have made it overwhelmingly clear they do not want to fund antisemitism,” Stefanik said.

© JNS