Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

Sen. Gillibrand Withdraws Support for Anti-BDS Bill

From the JTA:

In a rare move and after facing criticism at town hall meetings, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York’s Junior Democratic Senator, withdrew her sponsorship of an anti-BDS bill.

A search of the congressional website on Wednesday showed that Gillibrand withdrew her sponsorship. Asked for comment, her spokesman, Glen Caplin, said Gillibrand remains opposed to the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel, and supported the bill’s intentions, but is concerned that its critics are concluding that the bill would impinge on civil liberties.

She wants the bill to remove those ambiguities, Caplin said.

Click here to continue reading at the JTA.

8 Comments

  • The blind, leading the blind....

    Spineless!! The letter “D” in her party/state identifier says it all!

  • Daniel Botnick

    Senator Gillibrand is a foul-mouthed leftist, pathologically opposed to everything Trump and, aside from that, no lover of Israel. She claims this bill harms freedom of speech, it doesn’t, nor does it harm freedom to withhold donations to her campaign and to vote for her opponent.

  • Millhouse LLC

    We’re all morons.
    Why can’t somebody oppose BDD while also support someone else’s rights to BDD? Personally I strongly oppose the BDS movement, while simontaniously I believe that the anti-BDS legislation does in fact infringe on personal liberties.
    The notion that you have one or the other, but not both illustrates the lack of objectivity within the Jewish community, and the tyrannical and controlling attitude the community has. (Interestingly enough, this very complaint is often used against the rabbonim)
    Oh, what a shame that the mediocre govern our society. Then again, that’s the nature of the bell curve.

    • Milhouse

      First of all, get your own name, don’t steal mine.

      Second, BDS is already illegal; it’s discrimination on the basis of national origin, which is forbidden by the same law that bans discrimination on the basis of race, sex, and religion.

      Third, cooperating with boycotts of Israel sponsored by foreign governments has been illegal for decades. That law was passed in the 1960s, in response to the Arab boycott of Israel, which required US businesses to certify that their products were not chas vesholom made in Israel, so that the Arabs should not be nichshal in breaking their boycott. It should be obvious why Congress made such certification illegal. The new legislation that Gillibrand has now dumped on simply extends that to boycotts sponsored by international non-government entities such as the UN; that wasn’t a problem before, but it is now, so this amendment is needed, and Gillibrand’s refusal is a clear sign of antisemitism.

      Let’s be very clear. BDS is an antisemitic movement. There is no significant difference between anti-zionism and antisemitism. There are only three possible non-antisemitic reasons to oppose zionism, and all three weigh even more strongly against a “Palestinian” state. It is literally impossible for someone who is not an antisemite to support the replacement of Israel by a “Palestinian” state, and that is what the BDS movement explicitly demands. Therefore anyone who helps the BDS movement, regardless of their motive, is objectively antisemitic, an enemy of the Jewish nation, and not someone for whom any Jew should vote.

  • The kangeroo

    Millhouse llc. One can not be pregnant and not pregnant.I was going to recomend you as a potential Moshiach since you know everything.But you do not cut it.

  • shg

    #’s 1 – 5 all have good points. Esp. #5 is something that people must be taught/exposed to.
    we need to know the subtle (not really subtle but people don’t get it) injustices and reveal them.