NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Announces Executive Order Against Anti-Israel BDS Movement

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that the state will be taking firm stance against the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Rather than pursuing legislation, Cuomo signed an executive order directing state agencies to cease doing business with any group that associates itself with BDS protesters.

The governor announced the order ahead of the annual Celebrate Israel Parade in Midtown, Manhattan, Sunday morning.

Cuomo asserted that the BDS movement wages "economic attack[s]” against Israel, and that New York and Israel must both work to combat their "common enemy."

"If you boycott against Israel, New York will boycott you," Cuomo said. "If you divert revenues from Israel, New York will divert revenues from you. If you sanction Israel, New York will sanction you."

Cuomo became the first governor in the country to sign an executive order denouncing the BDS movement, which got its start about a decade ago with a group of pro-Palestine activists. BDS opponents have deemed the movement anti-Semitic.

“This order sends the message that this state will do everything in its power to end this hateful, intolerant campaign. New York and Israel share an unbreakable bond and I pray that the Israeli and Palestinian people will find a way to live side by side and find peace, prosperity and security,” the governor said Sunday.

In 2014, Cuomo visited Israel in an act of solidarity with the country following its month-long war with Hamas.

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