Across the United States, state governments are increasingly sponsoring blacklists of corporations and institutions that support the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which seeks to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. New laws and other governmental efforts are intended to have a chilling effect on the use of political boycotts, a time-honored, non-violent strategy utilized in many struggles for justice.

On the West Coast, the California Assembly voted 64-0 on June 3 to pass AB 2844, the newly renamed "Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions of Recognized Sovereign Nations or Peoples Act", which would mandate the Attorney General of California create and post blacklists of all companies that "engage in discriminatory business practices in furtherance of a boycott" against any sovereign country recognized by the United States government. Statewide efforts against the original "California Combating the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of Israel Act of 2016" forced numerous amendments that deleted specific mention of Israel and mandated the Attorney General to investigate the constitutionality of the proposed denial of state contracts with companies engaged in boycotts, rather that directly mandating that they be denied.

On June 9, hundreds of New Yorkers demonstrated outside Governor Andrew Cuomo's offices, outraged by his executive order requiring the state to create a blacklist and divest from BDS supporters. Demonstrators called on Governor Cuomo to rescind the executive order. Protesters carried signs that read “We will continue to stand for justice and boycott Israel until the Palestinian people achieve freedom, justice, and equality,” in defiance of the attempt to repress the growing movement for Palestinian rights.

Protesters tell Cuomo: We will boycott Israel until it ends abuses of Palestinian rights | Adalah-NY | Mark Stone Voted for Unconstitutional, Anti-BDS Law AB 2844

Related Feature: Anti-BDS Bills Introduced in California Legislature