British Government Introduces Bill to Counter Anti-Israel BDS Movement
The Conservative-led British government on Monday introduced a bill in Parliament intended to crack down on local government bodies attempting...
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Britain’s then-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove seen outside the Cabinet Office in London, Britain May 14, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Hannah Mckay.
The Conservative-led British government on Monday introduced a bill in Parliament intended to crack down on local government bodies attempting to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Titled the “Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill”, the bill would prevent local councils, universities and other public institutions from making procurement and investment decisions that are “influenced by political or moral disapproval of foreign state conduct,” including disapproval of Israel.
Institutions violating the prohibition would potentially face ministerial investigation and “significant” fines.
UK Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove, who introduced the bill, said it would ensure the UK had a unified, government-led approach to any foreign boycott.
“It is simply wrong that public bodies have been wasting taxpayers’ time and money pursuing their own foreign policy agenda,” Gove said in a statement. “The UK must have a consistent approach to foreign policy, set by UK Government. These campaigns not only undermine the UK’s foreign policy but lead to appalling antisemitic rhetoric and abuse.”
In an opinion piece in the Jewish Chronicle on Wednesday, Gove cited the example of local councils in Leicester, Gwynedd and Swansea that had voted to boycott Israeli produce. He added that he hopes the bill will reduce community tensions after a record-breaking number of antisemitic incidents were recorded in the UK in 2021.
The bill has the support of the UK’s largest Jewish organization, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, as well as the Jewish Leadership Council, an umbrella group representing 38 UK Jewish organizations.
Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), a pro-Israel Conservative party parliamentary group, hailed the bill as “ground-breaking.”
“Today marks a watershed moment in tackling the divisive BDS movement,” said CFI’s Chairmen, MP Stephen Crabb and Lord Pickles, and Honorary President, Lord Polak. “The Government’s ground-breaking legislation, which delivers on a crucial manifesto commitment, will play a critical role in ending the abuse of public bodies for anti-Israel activity. BDS is harmful not only to community cohesion here in the UK but also the wider cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
One early critic of Monday’s bill is MP Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour Party leader whose membership in the party was removed after he described a report on antisemitism under his leadership as “dramatically overstated.”
“Boycott, divestment and sanctions helped end apartheid in South Africa,” Corbyn wrote on Twitter. “They will be essential to ending the apartheid regime in Israel, too. I will firmly oppose the government’s anti-BDS bill — a disgraceful attack on our freedom to fight for human rights, justice and peace.”
It is not yet clear whether the Labour Party will support the bill. Opposition Leader Sir Keir Starmer has previously said that the Labour Party is opposed to the anti-Israel BDS movement and has condemned “anti-Zionist antisemitism.”
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