How California’s anti-BDS bill became ‘no longer a pro-Israel bill’
A growing split over Israel within the Democratic Party appears to be spilling over into the California legislature.
Just three months ago, an anti-Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) bill being considered in Sacramento appeared to be on track to become a sure win for pro-Israel politicians and advocacy groups aiming to stem the growing BDS movement.
That bill, AB 2844, finally passed the California Assembly on June 2—but not before a Democratic-controlled Appropriations Committee had transformed it, to the point that many of the bill’s original backers say they will not support it further unless the state’s Senate makes significant changes.
The latest development of AB 2844 is a twist for a law that Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), who introduced the bill, along with other backers, had expected would receive broad support. But AB 2844 had difficulty getting through the Democratic-controlled Assembly’s Committee on Accountability, as well as its Judiciary Committee and, finally, the Appropriations Committee, which is chaired by Lorena Gonzalez (D-Chula Vista).
The bill was initially named the “California Combating the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions of Israel Act of 2016” and was intended to force all California government agencies to stop doing business with companies participating in a boycott against Israel, which is currently California’s 18th-largest export partner.
But on May 27, by the time the bill came to a vote in the Appropriations Committee, it had been renamed, “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions of Recognized Sovereign Nations or Peoples,” and all mention of Israel had been deleted. The revised bill also does not distinguish between nations that are U.S. allies and those that are not, nor does it mention protecting major California trading partners. The revised bill also stripped a demand that the state cease business with companies participating in economic boycotts.
The new version of AB 2844 states only that the attorney general shall create “a list of companies that have engaged in discriminatory business practices in furtherance of a boycott of any sovereign nation or peoples recognized by the government of the United States.” Also, to the chagrin of some of AB 2844’s original backers, the amended version instructs the attorney general to assess “the constitutionality of prohibiting a company on the list…from entering into a contract with a public entity.”
“The bill came out with amendments that really, in my view, took the whole meaning away from the bill, stripped out all references to Israel and all of the important operative language, and turned it into something very different,” Bloom told the Journal on Friday.
On the Assembly floor Thursday, ” target=”_blank”>introduced an anti-BDS bill virtually identical to the one Bloom introduced in March, but the California Legislative Jewish Caucus (CLJC) was
JJ Inside The Print
The relationship between American Jews and Israel has never been, to put it politely, more complicated. If you’re on the left, you have a host...
When I went to see the groundbreaking exhibition “Auschwitz: Not Long Ago. Not Far Away” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, Orthodox...
I drove down to San Diego for Lori Gilbert-Kaye’s funeral, the 60-year old woman of valor who was killed in the Chabad of Poway shooting....
Labels matter, and they are an integral part of the war of ideas. When British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin Roosevelt met...
“What are you wearing Friday night? Something that will show off those legs?” It was the week before Love to Erase MS at the Beverly...
We were two of the youngest Jewish-Americans to run for Congress in 2018 — Naomi Levin and Bryan Leib. We have many things in common, including...
Anti-Semitism is a sign of illness in the culture that hosts it. It poisons the culture’s history and legacy. The pre-Holocaust anti-Semitic reenact-ment we are...
Though most Syrians oppose normalizing relations with Israel and reject efforts toward establishing diplomatic ties, Syrian opposition leader Fahad Almasri has not stopped seeking an...
Saying that Eyal Sher lives and breathes Jerusalem is like saying the Western Wall is old. Sher’s matrilineal line to the holy city stretches back...
1. In less than two weeks, Israel is slated to install its new government. Its policies aren’t yet known, its direction unclear, its exact contour...
Hours before the last days of Passover began, it was very busy at Judge Rachel Freier’s house in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y....
One verse, five voices. Edited by Salvador Litvak, Accidental Talmudist "Command the children of Israel, and they shall take to you pure olive oil, crushed for...
I don’t know why it surprised me. I should have expected it when I wrote a story some months back headlined “Hummus Is the Peacemaker.”...
In a conference call with the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) took President Donald Trump to task for invoking executive...
This June, the KeHILLAT mogen David Spivak Educational Center (KMDSEC) in the Pico-Robertson area will graduate its first fifth-grade class. The Orthodox Jewish Day School,...
For several years, venture capitalist and philanthropist Art Bilger has been hosting town hall-style workshops across the country to address what he views as a...
Although Israel’s 71st anniversary officially was May 9, you can still celebrate all things Israel this Sunday, May 19, at the Israeli-American Council’s (IAC) annual...
On May 7, two days before Yom Ha’atzmaut — Israel’s Independence Day — the West Hollywood City Council hosted a screening of the 1997 documentary “The...
“What makes Israel a rich source of material and stories, and what happens to those stories and creators as they make their way to America?”...
Local artists Shula Singer Arbel, Dwora Fried and Malka Nedivi have very different styles and employ different mediums, but their inspiration for their work is...
Elizabeth Rynecki’s great-grandfather Moshe, a Polish Jew, was a renowned artist who was murdered in 1943 at the Majdanek concentration camp. His family has recovered...
We’ve all made mistakes that cost us: opportunities we passed on, deals we didn’t make, trusting the wrong people with our money. But the mistakes...
Ever since cell phones became a staple in our lives, those who work in Holocaust education and Holocaust memory have grappled with how to combine...
Peggy Lipton, whose blond hair and flower-child charisma made her a star of the 1960s TV hit “The Mod Squad” and the ’90s cult series...
Dear Jared, I know your father-in-law is not much of a reader. But he entrusted you with a historic peace mission that has defeated countless...
In the spirit of this weekend’s Celebrate Israel Festival, here’s a project that will keep you commemorating Israel’s independence throughout the spring and summer. This...
Israeli-born real estate investor and philanthropist Naty Saidoff supports many causes, yet the one that may be closest to his pro-Israel heart is the Israeli...
Husband-and-wife Roz and Jerry Rothstein, CEO and COO of pro-Israel organization StandWithUs (SWU), respectively, took part in a mission to Israel for Yom HaZikaron and...
FRI MAY 17 Musical Shabbat Music and Shabbat go hand in hand at Adat Ari El for “N’ranena,” an upbeat evening featuring an unbroken thread...
A Tribute to Aleh Negev Rockets rain down on the Negev even as Jews all over the world celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut. In the face of...
We are the shoes, we are the last witnesses. We are shoes from grandchildren and grandfathers, From Prague, Paris and Amsterdam, And because we are...
