Indiana senate passes anti-BDS resolution

Decision makes state legislature second in US, after Tennessee, to oppose boycott movement

By JTA 1 May 2015, 3:14 pm 3

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Protesters urging a boycott against Israel in Melbourne, file photo (CC-BY SA Takver/Wikimedia Commons)

Indiana’s state senate passed a non-binding resolution opposing boycotts of Israel.

Resolution 74, adopted earlier this week, makes Indiana’s legislature the second in the United States to pass a resolution condemning BDS, or the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign. Tennessee passed a similar appeal last month.

The Indiana House of Representatives unanimously passed the anti-BDS House Resolution 59 on April 22. The measure now goes to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence for his signature.

Last week, the student senate at Earlham College, a Quaker liberal arts institution in Indiana, passed a resolution demanding divestment from US companies that profit from what its authors called Israeli violations of Palestinians’ rights.

On Thursday, Pence joined business and government leaders in Indiana for a business exchange meeting to discuss opportunities for economic collaboration between Israel and Indiana, an initiative extending from a Pence-led jobs mission to Israel in December.