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 bernstein@forward.com 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, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
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.
