Arizona legislature passes anti-BDS measure

WASHINGTON — Arizona’s House of Representatives passed legislation Monday targeting companies that participate in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.

The legislation, which passed the House 42-16-2 after advancing through the Arizona State Senate last week, prohibits state investment in companies that engage in a political boycott of Israel and requires all entities contracting with the state to certify that they don’t participate in such efforts.

The bill will now go to the desk of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, who must decide whether to sign it into law.

Arizona’s anti-BDS measure comes just a few weeks after Florida’s General Assembly passed similar legislation.

According to Peggy Shapiro, Midwest director of Israel advocacy group StandWithUs, the Florida bill was the first of its kind to ban both state investment and procurement in entities that boycott Israel.

Arizona is now the second, she said.

“This bill tells entities that want to boycott Israel that the state doesn’t feel it’s in their interests to invest in them,” she told The Times of Israel.

“Because this boycott campaign is being waged against a very reliable US ally, where we have a lot of strategic interaction together, and because the state has millions of dollars in cooperative ventures with Israel, the state itself can be hurt by this and so can a US partner.”

Shapiro, who sent educational materials to Arizona legislators leading up to the vote, follows state-by-state anti-BDS legislation closely. She said state legislators in Georgia and Iowa are currently considering similar legislation.