AJC Joins Jewish Chorus Criticizing Israel’s Anti-BDS Ban
Change Agent: AJC executive director David Harris was reportedly unhappy with the performance of the Jerusalem office. Image by getty images
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The American Jewish Committee said it was “troubled” by a new Israeli law banning entry to foreigners who publicly call for boycotting the Jewish state or its settlements.
“Every nation, of course, is entitled to regulate who can enter,” AJC CEO David Harris, said Tuesday.
“But barring entry to otherwise qualified visitors on the basis of their political views will not by itself defeat BDS, nor will it help Israel’s image as the beacon of democracy in the Middle East it is, or offer opportunities to expose them to the exciting and pulsating reality of Israel,” Harris said.
The AJC’s statement, released a day after the law’s passage, was the first signal from the American Jewish establishment that it was unhappy with the law. An array of American groups on the left — including J Street, Americans for Peace Now, Ameinu, the New Israel Fund and T’ruah, a rabbinical human rights group — condemned the law as soon as it passed.
The ban applies to any foreigner “who knowingly issues a public call for boycotting Israel.” It includes those who urge boycotting areas under Israeli control, such as the West Bank settlements.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
