South Carolina becomes first US state to take action against anti-Israel boycotts

[n2doc]

WASHINGTON – South Carolina’s governor has signed into law a bill to stop efforts to boycott, divest and sanction Israel on Thursday afternoon, in a first for the nation on a statewide level.

The bill makes no mention of Israel directly, but prevents public entities from contracting with businesses engaging in the “boycott of a person or an entity based in or doing business with a jurisdiction with whom South Carolina can enjoy open trade.”

The premise of the law is that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, colloquially known as BDS, discriminates against the people of Israel and weakens the economy of South Carolina.

“Boycott,” for the purposes of the law, is defined as the effort by companies to “blacklist, divest from or otherwise refuse to deal with a person or firm when the action is based on race, color, religion, gender or national origin of the targeted person or entity,” according to the text.

Companies also must agree not to engage in boycott activities going forward.


more
http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/South-Carolina-becomes-first-US-state-to-take-action-against-anti-Israel-boycotts-405120

[BillZBubb]

1. I thought the right wing was against government restrictions on business?

I guess some regulations are more important than others. Clean, safe environment, not so much. Protecting an apartheid state, yes.

[cali]

2. how can this be constitutional?

[malthaussen]

5. Unenforcible, surely.

But it provides SC with a club with which to beat anti-Israel protesters, which is the purpose of the exercise.

-- Mal

[GGJohn]

7. It is constitutional,

it's preventing public entities, (state govt.) from doing business with private companies that are boycotting Israel.
The state has every right to do so.

[malthaussen]

3. So on this basis, I guess the boycotts of South Africa would have been unlawful.

And here I thought we'd already established that money is free speech. Damn, it is so hard to keep up these days.

-- Mal

[betterdemsonly]

12. Yep! n/t

[malthaussen]

4. Isn't Harper doing the same thing in Canada?

Or wants to, anyway? Think I saw an article about that a couple of weeks ago.

-- Mal

[Jefferson23]

6. Yes.

Canada BDS Hate Crime Charges: Israel Boycott Groups, Including United Church, Would Be Targeted By 'Hate Propaganda' Law

http://www.ibtimes.com/canada-bds-hate-crime-charges-israel-boycott-groups-including-united-church-would-be-1916899

[betterdemsonly]

14. Harper is a fundamentalist and a christian zionists

He is a member of the Christian Missionary Aiiiance. It the Church of John Birch. It still amazes me Canada elected him.

[CherokeeDem]

8. I grew up in South Carolina

I do not recognize this state any longer.

[geek tragedy]

9. This seems to be a defensive, rear-guard action. nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. The boycotts are completely ineffective and are not working at all nope not even a little

Carry on.

By the way, Illinois is doing something similar: requiring that state employee investment funds drop any boycotting entity from their portfolios. BECAUSE IT'S NOT WORKING AT ALL!!!!!!

[betterdemsonly]

11. They might be trying to protect themselves from boycott

both the gay rights movement, and choice movement, are talking about boycotting them. The civil rights movement itself was based on boycotts, so this is blatently unconstitutional. The liberal, on everything but Israel crowd, crticized Palestinians for using violence instead of following MLK and Gandhi's example. Then when they do follow their example, and start boycotting Israel, they cooperatate, with the children of the old Confederacy, to outlaw the tactics of MLK and Gandhi. MLK and Gandhi boycotted Southern Institutions. They didn't just protest.

[SwankyXomb]

13. Republicans don't care about Israel one tiny bit

except as it relates to their End Times fantasies.

[n2doc]

15. That's too cynical

They also care about that AIPAC and Sheldon Adelson campaign contribution $$$!

[betterdemsonly]

16. Not to mention the defense industry. Boeing used to be a Washington company in Scoop Jackson's time

Now it does most of its manufacturing in South Carolina. It's headquarters is in Illinois. These states are both passing anti-BDS laws.

[malthaussen]

17. No, I disagree.

Israel serves useful functions in the Mideast as a focus for resentment, a destabilizing influence, and a catspaw. They were also useful in the past for proxy wars, but it looks like we've abandoned that strategy. Still, we keep sending them toys, although their armaments industry is quite good at what it does.

-- Mal

[KamaAina]

18. "Too small to be a country, too large to be an insane asylum."

-unknown 19th-century South Carolinian