The California Combating BDS Act of 2016 was "overwhelmingly passed" by a vote of 60-0 in the state Assembly.
Dealt another blow to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement Wednesday following the passage of a bill aimed at hampering businesses from participating in "discriminatory boycotts" against Israel, according to weekly publication The Jewish Journal.
The California Combating BDS Act of 2016, also known as Assembly Bill 2844, was "overwhelmingly passed" by a vote of 60-0 in the state Assembly, which is now expected to be signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in the coming weeks.
“It’s been a long journey…but with a smile on my face I can say today that Republicans and Democrats in the legislature have taken a historic step forward in the fight against prejudice,” Travis Allen (R- Hunnington Beach), a co-sponsor of the legislation, said while speaking on the Assembly floor after the vote.
But critics note that much of the bill\’s original language had been removed throughout the state\’s lengthy legislative process, leaving the law mostly symbolic and feckless.
The bill\’s original proposal, for instance, sought to ban state contractors of more than $100,000 for companies that boycott the Jewish state, according to The Journal. Opponents in California\’s state legislature, however, quickly raised objections, arguing that the law potentially violated constitutionally protected freedoms such as free speech and boycott rights.
As a result, the law no longer seeks punitive measures against contractors who partake in boycott efforts against Israel. Instead, the law now merely states that contractors are forbidden from violating current state civil rights laws in the course of boycotting a sovereign nation recognized by the United States.