Anti-BDS activist bill passes first read in Knesset

A proposed law to prevent activists who call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel from being able to visit the country passes its first reading in the Knesset.

The law, if passed, will apply to anyone if “he, the organization or the body he represents calls for a boycott of the State of Israel or pledges to take part in such a boycott,” the Knesset says in a statement.

According to the bill, the BDS movement represents the “new front in the war against the State of Israel, which has stopped Israel from preparing against it as necessary. The proposed law will prevent people or representatives of companies, foundations or groups calling for a boycott of Israel from operating within the lands of the State of Israel to advance their ideas.”

The bill has received support from both right-wing and centrist parties, while left-wing parties have decried it was anti-democratic and ultimately ineffective at addressing the BDS issue.