New York Senate Passes Bill Banning Funds To Pro-BDS Individuals, Groups

Image by Getty Images
The New York Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill on Monday that would bar the state from investing in or contracting with any business, individual or organization engaging in the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel.
State institutions are currently barred in New York from directly taking part in a boycott against allied countries, but the current bill, which still needs to pass the Assembly before going to the governor, would extend the ban to prevent contracts or investments to pro-BDS non-state entities.
“New York has no business funding an economic war against Israel, or other allied nations, by conducting business with its enemies. It’s an inappropriate and offensive use of taxpayer dollars,” bill sponsor Elaine Phillips (R-Manhasset) said in a statement. “This measure extends existing state law to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to advance anti-Semitic, anti-freedom and anti-capitalistic principles. I urge the Assembly and Governor to take action on this important bill immediately so New York can follow suit with other states and end this practice.”
Officials said they would use “publicly available information” to create a list of “companies, organizations, or other entities that have engaged in or promoted boycotts of American allies.”
The bill, which was cosponsored by Borough Park Senator Simcha Felder, passed 56-6.
It was not immediately clear when the Assembly may vote on the bill.
Advocacy group Palestine Legal described the bill on their website as creating a “state-sponsored blacklist of individuals, organizations, and companies,” and vowed to fight the legislation from being enacted into law.
Contact Ben Fractenberg at [email protected] or on Twitter, @fractenberg
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
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 polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.