Via Salon
Andrew Cuomo pushing through discriminatory “blacklist” policy to punish people who boycott Israel for human rights
BEN NORTON
5 May
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday that he will be signing a pro-Israel executive order punishing people and groups who support a boycott of Israel on behalf of Palestinian human rights.
Legal experts have described this long pending anti-boycott policy as “21st-century McCarthyism,” warning it would effectively create a discriminatory “blacklist” of Palestinian human rights advocates who endorse boycotts like those organized in order to combat U.S.-backed apartheid in South Africa. Prominent legal organizations including the Center for Constitutional Rights, National Lawyers Guild, the New York Civil Liberties Union and Palestine Legal say these politically motivated anti-boycott policies constitute an unconstitutional attack on the freedom of speech.
The New York legislature has unsuccessfully tried to push through anti-boycott legislation for months, amid intense pressure by pro-Israel lobby groups. Now it appears that Gov. Cuomo has decided to instead circumvent the legal process and implement the policy on his own.
“I am signing an Executive Order that says very clearly we are against the BDS movement,” Cuomo tweeted on Sunday. “If you boycott Israel, New York will boycott you,” he added.
I am signing an Executive Order that says very clearly we are against the BDS movement. If you boycott Israel, New York will boycott you.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) 5 June 2016
In states throughout the U.S., dozens of bills are pending that would effectively create a blacklist of and punish people and groups who support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS, an international grassroots movement that promotes nonviolent economic means to pressure Israel to comply with international law and respect Palestinian rights.
It’s frightening to think there could be New York state employees scouring the internet for pro-BDS Facebook posts, tweets and news articles, and blacklisting individuals based on their political viewpoints,
Rahul Saksena, a staff attorney at non-profit advocacy organization Palestine Legal, told Salon in January. “It’s 21st century McCarthyism,” he added, noting government policies that punish citizens who endorse boycotts “are disturbing attempts to punish and chill constitutionally protected speech.”
“The government cannot punish individuals and entities because of their speech and political views,” Saksena said. “We believe that under a court’s scrutiny, these bills would be found unconstitutional.”
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