Nevada is the latest state to introduce a bill against efforts to harm Israel, marking the latest step in the fight against BDS on the US state level.
Nevada Lieutenant Governor Mark Hutchinson and pro-Israel activists introduced a new resolution seeking to counter the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The proposed Senate Bill 26 will seek to counter the discriminatory environment fostered by the BDS movement, according to the Israeli-American Coalition for Action (IAC for Action), which is promoting the measure. Nevada’s anti-BDS resolution will be similar to others passed by some 16 US states in recent years.
“We have a unique opportunity in the coming legislative session to send a powerful message that the hateful and discriminatory environment fostered by BDS has no place in Nevada,” said IAC for Action Chairman Shawn Evenhaim. “The IAC for Action is grateful to Lieutenant Governor Mark Hutchison and the state legislators of Nevada for their courageous leadership on this issue.”
Neville Pokroy, chairperson of the IAC for Action Government Relations Committee in Las Vegas, added that the Israeli-American community is ready to unite with other Nevada residents to “make a big difference in the fight against hate and discrimination.”
Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Rhode Island have passed bills fighting boycotts on Israel.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed an executive order banning state agencies from investing in companies that support boycotts on Israel.
More than 20 states are considering, or have passed, legislation targeting companies that comply with the anti-Israel BDS movement, and many countries around the world have introduced and passed similar laws.
The BDS movement promotes financial, academic and cultural boycotts against Israel, ostensibly as a nonviolent struggle against the so-called “Israeli occupation.”
Critics say its activities are a modern form of anti-Semitism, and its true objective is to destroy the State of Israel.
By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff
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