By: JNS.org

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed an executive order on Thursday barring the state from investing in companies that boycott Israel or their trade partners. The ceremony was attended by Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan.

“Your crucial step is creating an economic Iron Dome that ensures our shared progress and prosperity,” said Erdan, addressing Sununu. “But not only are you defending our shared interests. You are also fortifying the moral Iron Dome protecting the values of truth, justice and morality.”

Erdan also trained his focus on the U.N. Commission of Inquiry investigating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The commission has been harshly criticized by the United States and a wide swath of countries for its partiality, a documented history of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity among its members, along with a singular mandate that carries on in perpetuity and allows it to opine on any and all issues regarding the conflict.

The commission recently criticized American states for passing laws prohibiting boycotts of Israel.

“New Hampshire’s support for Israel today is the perfect response to this antisemitic U.N. commission,” said Erdan. “We must boycott our boycotters and delegitimize our delegitimizers.”

Erdan pointed to the impact anti-BDS laws have had on companies such as Ben & Jerry’s and Airbnb, which attempted to cut business ties with Jewish communities beyond the 1949 armistice lines and were pressured to change course by various state officials.

The Israeli-American Coalition for Action (IAC for Action), which helped to draft anti-BDS laws in New Hampshire and elsewhere, praised Sununu’s action.

“IAC for Action applauds Gov. Sununu for standing up against national origin discrimination and defending the deep cultural and commercial ties between Israel and New Hampshire,” said IAC for Action chairman Shawn Evenhaim. “This executive order protects the freedom and liberty of New Hampshire businesses from the coercion and bullying tactics of the BDS hate movement.”

Sununu’s executive order—similar to that of New York State’s—does not carry the force of law, as it was not passed by the legislature, and could be canceled or expanded at will by future governors. Anti-BDS laws have been passed by the other 35 aforementioned states through their respective legislatures.

At Thursday’s ceremony, former U.S. Rep. Alan Clemmons of South Carolina presented a letter addressed to U.N. officials and Commission of Inquiry members, and signed by legislators representing 42 states. The letter chided the commission’s criticism of anti-BDS laws as an “unwelcome intrusion into our states’ affairs and democratic processes and is based upon gross misrepresentations and identifiably anti-Semitic canards.”

The signatories to the letter wrote that they “condemn your report and highlight the illegitimacy of your findings. Furthermore, we reject whatever legal or moral authority you may claim to assert.” (JNS.org)

ADDENDUM

Prior to New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signing the executive order, to date, 36 states have adopted laws, executive orders, or resolutions designed to discourage boycotts against Israel. Separately, the U.S. Congress has considered anti-boycott legislation in reaction to the BDS movement. The Senate passed S.1, which contained anti-boycott provisions, on January 28, 2019, by a vote of 74-19. The House passed a resolution condemning the boycott of Israel on July 24, 2019, by a vote of 398-17. No federal law was adopted in May 2023.

Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Mike Braun (R-IN), Rick Scott (R-FL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Steve Daines (R-MT) reintroduced the Combating BDS Act of 2023 in May 2023.

The main objection to such laws was that they might violate the First Amendment. The Supreme Court, however, effectively rejected this argument when it refused to hear a challenge to an appeals court ruling that the anti-boycott law in Arkansas was not unconstitutional. States are listed below by the date they adopted anti-BDS measures.

1. Tennessee – April 2015
2. South Carolina – June 4, 2015
3. Illinois – July 23, 2015
4. Alabama – February 16, 2016
5. Colorado – February 26, 2016
6. Indiana – March 1, 2016
7. Florida – March 10, 2016
8. Virginia – March 10, 2016
9. Arizona – March 18, 2016
10. Georgia – April 26, 2016 – Revised 2022
11. Iowa – May 10, 2016 – March 24, 2022
12. New York – June 5, 2016
13. Rhode Island – July 2016
14. New Jersey – August 16, 2016
15. California – September 24, 2016
16. Pennsylvania – November 4, 2016
17. Ohio – December 19, 2016
18. Michigan – January 10, 2017
19. Arkansas – March 22, 2017
20. Texas – May 2, 2017
21. Minnesota – May 3, 2017
22. Nevada – June 2, 2017
23. Kansas – June 16, 2017
24. North Carolina – July 31, 2017
25. Maryland – October 23, 2017
26. Wisconsin – October 27, 2017
27. Louisiana – May 22, 2018
28. Mississippi – March 15, 2019
29. Kentucky – August 27, 2019
30. South Dakota – January 14, 2020
31. Oklahoma – May 15, 2020
32. Missouri – July 13, 2020
33. Utah – March 17, 2021
34. Idaho – April 22, 2021
35. West Virginia – April 26, 2021
36. North Dakota -April 13, 2023