Joining the fight to stop boycotts of Israel, North Carolina becomes the latest state to enact anti-BDS legislation.
Last Thursday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed into law House Bill 161, titled “Divestment From Companies That Boycott Israel,” making the Tar Heel State the 22nd in the union to introduce a law fighting anti-Israel boycotts.
The bill passed the North Carolina House of Representatives 96-19 following a 45-3 vote in the state’s senate in July.
The legislation prohibits the state’s retirement systems from investing in companies that boycott Israel. It also bans state contracts above $1,000 with large companies that boycott Israel.
“The state of North Carolina has long been a trading partner with Israel and thanks to this legislation, that connection will not be hindered. North Carolina businesses conduct $140 million per year in exports and commerce with Israel,” North Carolina’s Jewish Federations said in a joint statement.
The governors of all 50 US states have signed a declaration condemning the BDS movement as antithetical to American values.
Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Michigan, Texas, Nevada and Kansas have all passed bills fighting BDS.
The BDS movement promotes financial, academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, ostensibly as a nonviolent protest against the so-called “Israeli occupation.” Critics say its activities are a modern form of anti-Semitism and that its true objective is to destroy the State of Israel.
By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff