European Jewish Leader Praises Britain Pushback on BDS
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The British government’s plan to outlaw attempts to boycott Israel shows it is committed to fighting them in word as well as in deed, the leader of the European Jewish Congress said.
EJC President Moshe Kantor praised the planned measures on Wednesday, in a statement that coincided with the visit to Israel of Matthew Hancock, a British Cabinet minister in charge of interdepartmental coordination in government.
Hancock announced the new proposed regulations in a meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, Kantor wrote. “The bill will allow the government to prosecute universities, local government, councils, and student unions that back the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement,” he added.
Calling the move “a very important act,” Kantor said: “The British Government has long said it opposes boycotts of Israel in word and now we see they will also oppose them in deed.”
Word of the plan to pass laws or regulations against boycotts of Israel got out earlier this month.
If passed, the measures will make Britain the second major European country with laws against boycotting Israel.
France passed such laws in 2003, and they have served as the basis for multiple convictions of BDS activists who were sentenced for incitement to discrimination or hate due to their actions on Israel.
On Tuesday, the City Council of Paris passed two declarative motions expressing the city’s rejection of attempts to boycott Israel.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
