Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) and his colleagues are working on a bill to prevent New York State�s pension fund from doing business with companies that boycott Israel. The bill already has the support of more than a dozen Assembly Members on both sides of the aisle and follows on the overwhelming success of a similar bill that was unanimously passed in the Illinois legislature and is set to be signed by the State�s Governor.

�Thanks to a well-oiled propaganda machine, Israel is a uniquely vilified nation state,� said Hikind, a staunch supporter of the State of Israel. �The BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), the strategy of economic warfare, is rooted in anti-Semitism and a denial of Israel�s right to exist. It�s purpose is to delegitimize Israel.

�There�s no BDS movement against any other country. It�s time for New York State to make it clear where we stand. I applaud the lawmakers in Illinois who unanimously recognized the implicit lawlessness of boycotting Israel and I am proud to raise my voice, along with my colleagues in the Assembly, in support of ending the unethical, disingenuous, and frankly racist boycott against this legitimate nation and its people.�

The initial list of NY State Assembly Members supporting anti-BDS bill includes:

Peter Abbate (D-Brooklyn)
Alec Brook-Krasny (D-Brooklyn)
Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Brooklyn)
Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Long Island)
Phillip Goldfeder (D-Queens)
Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Island)
Charles Lavine (D-Long Island)
David McDonough (R-Long Island)
Walter Mosley (D-Brooklyn)
Joseph Saladino (R-Long Island)
Michael Simanowitz (D-Brooklyn)
David Weprin (D-Queens)

(YWN Desk – NYC)