British Court Says Government Anti-BDS Push Went Too Far
Britain’s High Court has ruled that the government acted unlawfully in barring local municipal pension funds from engaging in “ethical divestment” from companies that do business in Israel.
BDS activists are hailing the ruling as a victory for their cause, even though a judge said politics had nothing to do with the ruling.
Hugh Lanning, chair of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, said: “Today is a victory for Palestine, for local democracy, and for the rule of law.”
The judge, Sir Ross Cranston, ruled the government had no right to micromanage how local pension schemes choose to invest. He emphasized that the ruling had nothing to do with the merits of the BDS cause.
“The political merits of the respective arguments have no relevance,” he said.
David Berens, a London-based lawyer who represents the Jewish National Fund on the Board of Deputies of British Jews, told the Algemeiner that the ruling was “disappointing.”
“BDS is clearly antisemitic within the meaning of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism which the Government has adopted,” he said.
Contact Jesse Bernstein at [email protected] or on Twitter @__jbernstein
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
