Face of Nation : The United States House of Representatives passed a controversial bill Tuesday, overwhelmingly in favor of condemning the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS) that targets Israel and Israeli-owned businesses. The resolution passed with a 398-17 vote and five abstentions.
The Combating BDS Act passed in the Republican-majority Senate, but was not expected to pass through the Democratic-led House as easily, highlighting a growing divide within the left-wing party over support for Israel, which has always been historically bipartisan.
The BDS movement aimed at isolating Israel claims to be a nonviolent way to put pressure on the country over its treatment of the Palestinians, but Israel’s government and its supporters view it as a form of anti-Semitism disguised as anti-Israel sentiment by singling out the world’s only Jewish nation.
“BDS doesn’t seek social justice. It seeks a world in which the state of Israel does not exist,” Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) said on the floor Tuesday, according to Politico. Outspoken supporters of the movement, as well as harsh critics of Israel, Democratic Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, opposed the bill.
Last week, Omar introduced a new resolution to Congress that would pave the way for Americans to participate in the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanction) movement, without naming BDS specifically.
The resolution, co-sponsored by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), who’s family is Palestinian, and Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), affirms that “all Americans have the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights at home and abroad, as protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.” Tlaib spoke out on Twitter following the bill’s introduction calling it “unconstitutional.”
