Palestinian Group Slams New York Governor over BDS 'Blacklist'

Palestinian activists have slammed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over releasing a blacklist of organizations and groups who support and work with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign against Israel, calling the list a violation of constitutional rights in the United States.

RELATED:
The War on BDS: Israel to Spy on Foreign Activists, Deport Them

“Governor Cuomo’s Blacklist of institutions that support non-violent boycotts for justice for Palestinians is a stain on the State of New York,” the U.S.-based Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights said in a press release Friday shortly after the release of the list.

Back in June, Cuomo issued an executive order initiating the process for putting together the list and ordering all state agencies to cut financial ties with blacklisted institutions as a direct attack on the BDS movement.

The group pointed to how the U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that the country’s constitution protects participation in political boycotts as a form of freedom of speech and expression.

“Boycotts have been used throughout U.S. history ― from the Boston Tea Party, to the Civil Rights Movement, to the anti-South African Apartheid movement ― to challenge injustice and promote social change,” the statement said.

The group further argued that BDS in support of the Palestinian people has been targetted by right-wing Israel defenders who have lobbied Cuomo and others to silence the movement based on false accusations, in the same way the Civil Rights movement was vilified in the 1960s.

“New York stands in solidarity with Israel today and always," Cuomo said when he signed the executive order. "This state will not stand for the politics of discrimination in any form, and we will continue to demonstrate our unwavering support for the people of Israel in the fight for freedom, liberty and democracy,” he added, ignoring the plight of Palestinians under occupation and colonization.

The blacklist, which will be regularly updated by New York state, will seek to financially punish any company, organization or group that joins the boycott campaign against Israel that pressures the country to change its policies against Palestinians.

RELATED:
BDS Victory: Feminist Historian Refuses $300,000 Israeli Prize

“Governor Cuomo’s Blacklist has revived a dark tactic of the McCarthy era,” the legal center warned. “It is an attempt to label those who disagree with the Governor’s views on the critically important question of Israel-Palestine as enemies of New York State and to punish them financially.”

The blacklist could be extended in the future to include not only those who join the BDS movement but also those who merely argue in its favor and advocate others to join without participating themselves, which the group calls an intimidation of “faith, labor, human rights, and other groups from using well-established and constitutionally-protected boycott measures to protest social injustice.”

Such moves show that Israel is feeling the impact of the BDS movement as its reach and supporters grow around the world amid Israel’s unprecedented push for oppressive controversial policies under the most right-wing government in its history.