“A vote in favor of boycotts, divestment and sanctions is a vote against the very legitimacy of the Jewish state,” the Anti-Defamation League stated.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) strongly denounced the vote by a Norwegian trade union to adopt a full economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel.
The Congress of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), which represents over 900,000 unionized workers in the country – more than one quarter of the adult working population – voted 193 to 117 in favor of a total boycott of the State of Israel.
“The vote for a full international boycott of Israel by the LO union not only reflects a deep bias against Israel and its active labor movement, but undermines efforts to bring Israelis and Palestinians together,” Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL’s CEO, declared. “A vote in favor of boycotts, divestment and sanctions is a vote against the very legitimacy of the Jewish state.”
The vote went against the recommendation of the union’s executive committee, which had advocated for a boycott only of products and services from Judea and Samaria. The boycott does not differentiate between the rest of Israel and Judea and Samaria, which is often the target of boycotts.
Immediately after the vote, Norway’s Foreign Minister said the government strongly disapproved of the decision and commented on Twitter, “We need more cooperation and dialogue, not boycott.”
“We deeply appreciate and commend Foreign Minister Brende’s statement that this boycott vote is counterproductive and will do nothing to advance dialogue or improve cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians,” said Greenblatt.
Israel’s embassy in Oslo condemned the boycott in “the strongest terms.”
“This immoral resolution reflects deeply rooted attitudes of bias, discrimination and double standard towards the Jewish state,” Ambassador Raphael Schutz wrote in an email to AFP.
Noting that LO also called for the dismantling of a security barrier erected by Israel, Schutz said that “by adopting these positions, LO placed itself shoulder to shoulder with the worst enemies of Israel.”
By: United with Israel Staff