Trump’s State Department to defund international non-profits that support BDS
Mike Pompeo Image by JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
By David Ian Klein November 20, 2020
The State Department will work to identify groups that support the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement in order to stop funding them due to the alleged antisemitic nature of BDS, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The U.S. is committed to countering the Global BDS Campaign as a manifestation of anti-Semitism. I am directing U.S. Special Envoy @USEAntiSemitism to identify organizations engaged in politically motivated actions intended to penalize or limit commercial relations with Israel.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) November 19, 2020
The policy is expected to target human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that, among their activities, have reported on how Israeli settlements in the West Bank contribute to human rights abuses against Palestinians and that have come under penalty from the Israeli government for their work in the Jewish state, reported the Hill.
Both groups have also been strongly critical of the Trump Administration as well as international leaders praised by the president such as Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungary’s Victor Orban.
However, the policy could easily be overturned by the incoming Biden administration.
The State Department will also require that Israel label products produced in “Area C” of the West Bank with “made in Israel,” when exporting to the United States.
Area C is under full Israeli security and civil control.
Products from the rest of the West Bank will be labeled as such, and differentiated from those made in Gaza.
“Under the new approach, we will no longer accept “West Bank/Gaza” or similar markings, in recognition that Gaza and the West Bank are politically and administratively separate and should be treated accordingly.” the statement said.
Palestinians view the two regions as equal parts of a future unified Palestinian state.
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