New York City Council Votes 40-4 for Anti-BDS Resolution
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
— The New York City Council approved a nonbinding resolution to condemn the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
The resolution, which passed Wednesday in a 40-4 vote with six abstentions, condemns “all efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the global movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the people of Israel.”
At a hearing last week on the resolution, dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were ejected from City Hall.
Council members who voted against the resolution or abstained cited First Amendment rights, the Jewish Insider reported.
Some council members who voted for the resolution also expressed opposition to Israel’s settlement activity.
In June, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order against BDS hours before the start of New York City’s annual Celebrate Israel Parade. The order requires state agencies to divest themselves of companies and organizations aligned with the BDS movement.
"Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief"
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
