July 27, 2016 New Jersey’s Anti-BDS Legislation Last month, the New Jersey General Assembly in an overwhelming 69-3 vote passed legislation prohibiting the investment of state pension and annuity funds in to companies that boycott Israel or Israeli businesses. A similar bill had passed through the state Senate in a unanimous 39-0 vote in May. According to the legislation, the state’s $71 […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
July 27, 2016 National Lawyers Guild Sued for Discrimination On July 13, New York attorney David Abrams filed a complaint against the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), on behalf of an Israeli organization, Bibliotechnical Athenaeum. In the complaint, Abrams alleges that NLG practiced unlawful discrimination, violating the New York City and State Human Rights Laws. Essentially, this is an anti-BDS lawsuit challenging NLG for excluding […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
July 26, 2016 Rhode Island Governor Signs Anti-BDS Legislation This month, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo (D) signed into law HB-7736, “Anti-Discrimination in State Contracts,” an anti-BDS law that law prohibits the State of Rhode Island from patronizing any business that refuses to business with another firm based upon national origin, effectively preventing Rhode Island’s tax payer money from supporting companies that boycott Israel. […] Anti-Zionism Blog
July 21, 2016 Another Anti-BDS Lawsuit Filed It’s been a rough year for the American Studies Association (“ASA”), legally speaking. Earlier this week, a lawsuit was filed in New York State Court against the New York Metro chapter of the ASA, alleging “unlawful discrimination under the New York City and State Human Rights Laws,” in relation to the ASA’s boycott of Israeli academic institutions. In […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
July 21, 2016 Mark Bloome: Community Leader and Coalition-Builder Mark Bloome, the Seattle-based, national and local Jewish community leader and strategist, has become an expert at coalition-building and finding innovative ways to fight the Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS) against Israel and its anti-Semitism on a national basis. Mark has tirelessly advocated for the Jewish community for over 35 years. For the past […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
July 19, 2016 LDB Continues to Support Milan Chatterjee Today, LDB issued a statement (below) expressing our continued support for Milan Chatterjee, the former President of the UCLA Graduate Student Association (GSA) who has been subjected to months of harassment by supporters of the BDS movement for his neutral stance regarding BDS. This is an important time to reiterate our support for Mr. Chatterjee, as the […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
July 14, 2016 Major Party Platforms Combat BDS In a pair of positive steps, both the Democratic and Republican parties have inserted language in their party platforms that push against the forces of BDS. The Democratic party, who last week completed their draft platform, explicitly state their opposition to BDS, “A strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States because we […] Anti-Semitism Blog
July 12, 2016 UNESCO Delays Temple Mount Vote On July 12th, UNESCO (The UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) delayed a vote on a draft resolution that would damage ties Israel and the Jewish people as a whole have with the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Jordanian and Palestinian representatives in UNESCO proposed the draft resolution in an attempt to return the […] Anti-Zionism Blog
June 30, 2016 Indiana University Holds Important Conference on “Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, and the Dynamics of Delegitimization” The following piece was written in collaboration with Emma Dillon and Juan Pablo Rivera Garza: In April, the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism (ISCA) organized an important International Scholars Conference at Indiana University, on the topic of “Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, and the Dynamics of Delegitimization.” The conference sought to explore what informs contemporary anti-Zionism […] Anti-Semitism Blog
June 29, 2016 Rhode Island Passes Anti-BDS Legislation Last week, Rhode Island lawmakers passed legislation aimed at curbing BDS movements within the state. Bill H 7736, also known as Anti-Discrimination in State Contracts Act, came about after its sponsor, Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Mia Ackerman (D-45, Cumberland, Lincoln) started to become aware of growing support for the BDS movement. Rep. Ackerman believes this bill will proactively counter BDS, […] Blog