Reform Movement Slams Israel’s Anti-BDS Ban As Anti-Democratic
Image by Union for Reform Judaism
(JTA) — The Union for Reform Judaism criticized Israel’s new law banning entry to boycott supporters as anti-democratic.
The URJ, which has the largest membership of any Jewish denomination, said it opposes both the law and boycotts of Israel.
“We are frustrated that by passing this law, the Israeli government has in essence posted a giant sign by the door of the Jewish state saying, ‘Don’t come unless you agree with everything we’re doing here,’” Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the URJ’s president, said in a statement to JTA on Thursday. “What kind of democracy makes that kind of statement?”
The Reconstructionist movement also issued a statement opposing the ban.
The law, adopted Monday by the Knesset, bans entry to foreigners who publicly call for boycotting the Jewish state or its settlements.
Several Jewish American groups have condemned the new law, including the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee. The URJ was the first religious movement to make a statement on the new law.
The law also applies to those who urge limiting boycotts to areas under Israeli control, such as the West Bank settlements.
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. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
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 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.
