On January 8th, Senators Simcha Felder and Jack Martins introduced a bill into the New York State senate that would forbid New York from offering contracts to companies that support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement against Israel, and against any companies otherwise boycotting, divesting, or sanctioning Israel. Likewise, the Jerusalem Post reported that on January 4 Assemblyman Travis Allen of the California Assembly introduced a bill that would forbid the State of California from doing business with companies participating in the BDS Movement and against any companies otherwise boycotting, divesting, or sanctioning Israel. New York and California universities have has been a central battleground of the BDS movement, and this legislation would represent a major push back in the opposite direction, essentially a move by these states to divest from those who divest from Israel. These bills would also penalize companies boycotting products made in disputed territories and those under military occupation. The California bill would prohibit the State from investing in any company that is “engaging in actions that are politically motivated and are intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with the State of Israel or companies based in the State of Israel or in territories controlled by the State of Israel.” The New York bill defines “boycott” as engaging in any activity that will result in any person abstaining from commercial, social, or political relations with Israel, or companies based in Israel, “or in territories controlled by an allied nation [including Israel].” According to the Jerusalem Post, Travis Allen, who introduced the California bill, said in a statement that the US and Israel “have historically stood together as allies due to our unique bond founded on shared values, a bilateral trade relationship, and our unwavering commitment to freedom and democracy. Any company that is intentionally inflicting economic harm upon California’s trading partners weaken our ability to conduct business and harm the vital economic interests of our state. Further, boycotts of countries often derive from ethnic, religious, racial, or nationality discrimination, which directly contradicts the values of California citizens.” This past summer, Illinois and South Carolina passed similar anti-BDS measures, and each state has respectively required itself by law to divest from companies participating in BDS. Illinois Senator Ira I. Silverstein introduced the bill in Illinois, and a large group of representatives introduced the bill in South Carolina. Also last summer the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bi-partisan Resolution 318 condemning the boycott of Israeli academic institutions or professors, which recognized that boycotting Israel “hinders the possibility of achieving a fair and just solution and a peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Furthermore, this past summer, President Obama signed into law Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation, which contains provisions authored by Congressman Peter Roskam (IL-06), to combat the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. These provisions, which were originally introduced as Roskam’s H.R. 825, the U.S.-Israel Trade and Commercial Enhancement Act, were unanimously adopted into the House and Senate versions of TPA in April. Roskam, who is co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, released the following statement after President Obama signed the TPA into law, which contained his provisions: “This is an historic milestone in the fight against Israel’s enemies, as American opposition to insidious efforts to demonize and isolate the Jewish state is now the law of the land. The bipartisan bill enacted today conditions any free trade agreement with the European Union on its rejection of BDS. This will force companies like telecom giant Orange, which is partially owned by the French government, to think twice before engaging in economic warfare against Israel. No longer will these companies be able to freely attack a key U.S. ally without consequence. Nevertheless, what we accomplished today is just the beginning. As the BDS movement continues to evolve, so too must our response. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure the U.S.-Israel relationship remains strong now and in the future.” The Indiana General Assembly followed suit two days after House Resolution 318 with SR 74, introduced by Indiana Senator David C. Long, which unanimously condemns BDS and states that BDS promotes “a climate of hatred, intimidation, intolerance and violence against Jews.” Last summer, the New York State Assembly rejected BDS through a resolution introduced that opposes attempts to delegitimize and apply double standards to, the Jewish State. This past resolution differs from the newly proposed bill, in that the resolution only expresses the intent of the state of New York in condemning BDS and anti-Semitism and encouraging its institutions from doing the same, while the proposed bill would require by law that the state of New York divest its resources and refuse to do business with companies that boycott Israel through BDS and similar movements. Finally, Florida and Tennessee have also passed similar anti-BDS resolutions. According to the Jerusalem Post, the Florida resolution states that the BDS movement “is one of the main vehicles for spreading anti-Semitic perspectives and advocating the elimination of the Jewish State.” The resolution said the Florida House of Representatives condemns BDS and “calls upon its governmental institutions to denounce hatred and discrimination whenever they appear.” The Tennessee resolution declares the BDS movement to be “one of the main vehicles for spreading anti-Semitism and advocating the elimination of the Jewish state.” It adds that BDS activities in Tennessee “undermine the Jewish people’s right to self-determination, which they are fulfilling in the State of Israel.” It notes, too, that BDS and its agenda are “inherently antithetical and deeply damaging to the causes of peace, justice, equality, democracy, and human rights for all the peoples in the Middle East.”