New York City Council Votes 40-4 for Anti-BDS Resolution

By Marcy Oster September 15, 2016

— The New York City Council approved a nonbinding resolution to condemn the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.

The resolution, which passed Wednesday in a 40-4 vote with six abstentions, condemns “all efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the global movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the people of Israel.”

At a hearing last week on the resolution, dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were ejected from City Hall.

Council members who voted against the resolution or abstained cited First Amendment rights, the Jewish Insider reported.

Some council members who voted for the resolution also expressed opposition to Israel’s settlement activity.

In June, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order against BDS hours before the start of New York City’s annual Celebrate Israel Parade. The order requires state agencies to divest themselves of companies and organizations aligned with the BDS movement.

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