Israel advocate Chuck Schumer to support anti-boycott (BDS) legislation

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will announce today his support for a bipartisan anti-BDS measure.

The Senate resolution (S.Res. 120), introduced by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rob Portman (R-OH) expresses opposition to “efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.”

“I strongly support this resolution and firmly oppose the BDS movement targeting Israel. S.Res.120 is led by Senator Cardin and Senator Portman and I proudly join the bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives pushing for its passage,” Schumer told Jewish Insider.

The measure, introduced to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in March, has at least 60 co-sponsors, including 24 Democrats. A companion in the House, led by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Lee Zeldin (R-NY), has over 300 co-sponsors. That resolution is expected to come to the House floor for a vote sometime in the summer. [See the bill here]

“I have long believed that the BDS effort is a profoundly biased campaign to delegitimize the state of Israel, and I look forward to Congress passing the resolution with overwhelming bipartisan support,” Schumer said.

The resolution also “reaffirms its strong support for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states.”

Constitutional rights authorities say that the First Amendment guarantees the right of Americans of all political viewpoints to engage in political boycotts. Legislation that attempts to infringe on that right is against the Constitution. Courts in Texas, Kansas, and Arizona have ruled anti-boycott legislation unconstitutional.

“BDS” is an international effort that “upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.”

Schumer is a longtime advocate for Israel. Below he is participating in an annual Israel Day Parade in New York City.

Senatoro Schumer announced at the 2010 national convention of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) that God put him on earth to be a “guardian for Israel”:

At the 2018 American Israeli Council convention, Schumer spoke with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and billlionaire campaign donor Israeli Haim Saban about how he and Pelosi are using their powerful positions in Congress to further Israeli interests: