The sponsor of a bill that would make Burlington, Vermont the first-ever city in the United States to boycott Israel has for the moment backtracked. Amid accusations that the proposed bill is antisemitic, councilman Ali Dieng said he was sending the draft resolution endorsing the controversial BDS movement back to Burlington’s Racial Equity Committee, which previously approved the measure.
Dieng added that after various conversations he now believes that BDS contributes to Jew-hatred. “Many people [supporters of the bill] are not happy with me, but I think it is the right thing,” he stated. The BDS movement’s co-founder, Omar Barghouti, is on record admitting that his aim is to destroy the world’s only Jewish state.
On Monday, members of the public voiced their opinions on the resolution, co-signed by Vermonters for Justice in Palestine. Numerous BDS proponents expressed views considered antisemitic according to the widely adopted — including by the US government — IHRA working definition.
In July, Vermont-based ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s announced that it would no longer sell its products in the disputed West Bank. The decision was reportedly made after years of pressure from Vermonters for Justice in Palestine. The words of their supporters speak for themselves.
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