Senior US authority pushes for blacklisting anti-Israeli groups

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed an unprecedented executive order for agencies under his control to divest from companies and organizations aligned with the anti-Israeli Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (B.D.S.), which puts economic and political pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Palestine.

Cuomo told his audience at the private social club on Sunday, “If you boycott against Israel, New York will boycott you. If you divert revenues from Israel, New York will divert revenues from you. If you sanction Israel, New York will sanction you.”

The order gives the ‘Office of General Services’ generous leeway to compose a list over the next six months of any groups engaged in, “boycott, divestment or sanctions actively targeting Israel, either directly or through a parent or subsidiary.”

Once all the names are named, executive-branch agencies—including public-benefit corporations, public boards, and much of the state government— will be obligated to divest from any group on the list.

Omar Barghouti, a founder of B.D.S., told the New York Times in an email that Cuomo’s actions are a sign of waning popular support for Israel in New York and beyond, “having lost many battles for hearts and minds at the grass-roots level, Israel has adopted since 2014 a new strategy to criminalize support for B.D.S. from the top,” Barghouti wrote.

According to NY1 News, Cuomo is the first governor in the country to sign an executive order denouncing the BDS movement.