North Carolina State Legislature Passes Anti-BDS Bill
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — The North Carolina state legislature passed a bill that would bar the state from doing business with companies that boycott Israel.
The bill passed last week by both houses of the General Assembly has been sent to state Gov. Roy Cooper for his signature.
The bill, titled “Divestment from Companies That Boycott Israel,” passed the state House of Representatives by a vote of 96 to 19, and passed the state Senate by a vote of 45 to 3.
The legislation required state institutions to stop contracts with companies that boycott Israeli companies or products made in Israel. The bill also prohibits future work with such companies.
North Carolina businesses conduct nearly $140 million per year in exports and commerce with Israel, according to the North Carolina Jewish Federation.
North Carolina will become at least the 22nd state with laws or executive orders banning state business with companies that support the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, or BDS, against Israel.
Among the states that have passed anti-BDS legislation in recent months are: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
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.
