Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered outside the office of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday, protesting a new pro-Israel policy that legal groups warn is “McCarthyite” and unconstitutional.
Cuomo signed an executive order this weekend that punishes institutions and companies that support a boycott of Israel on behalf of Palestinian human rights.
New Yorkers demonstrated outside the Governor’s office after he signed an unconstitutional executive order against using boycotts to advocate for an end to Israel’s human rights abuses.
Thursday June 9, 2016–Hundreds of New Yorkers demonstrated this evening outside Governor Cuomo’s Midtown offices, outraged by the Governor’s unconstitutional executive order requiring the state to create a blacklist and divest from corporations and institutions that support the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel. Protesters carried signs that read “We will continue to stand for justice and boycott Israel until the Palestinian people achieve freedom, justice, and equality,” in defiance of the attempt to repress the growing movement for Palestinian rights.
Demonstrators called on Governor Cuomo to rescind his executive order.
All Out! Thursday, June 9th at 5:30 Gov. Cuomo's Office: 633 3rd Avenue between 40th and 41st St.
Tell Gov. Cuomo: We will proudly continue to stand for justice and boycott Israel until it complies with international law and respects Palestinian human rights!
State-sanctioned backlash against the movement for Palestinian human rights has reached a new low: Gov. Cuomo just signed a McCarthyite executive order requiring state agencies to divest from organizations that support the Palestinian call to boycott companies profiting from, or cultural or academic iinstitutions complicit in, Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, the order requires the creation of a publicly available blacklist of all companies and institutions that support the movement.
Boycott is a time-honored tool of communities across the globe. Cuomo’s move is blatantly unconstitutional and is shamelessly designed to attack the movement for Palestinian human rights.
Please join us! Tell Gov. Cuomo: We will continue to stand for justice and boycott Israel until the Palestinian people achieve freedom, justice, and equality. We will continue to boycott Israel because it is the right thing to do.
Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel endorsed a demonstration at the Brooklyn Nets - Maccabi Tel Aviv game on Tuesday, Oct. 7. The demonstration was centered around protesting the Nets' hosting of 12 Israeli Defense Forces members who participated in this summer's military attack on Gaza. That attack killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, the vast majority civilians, including more than 500 children. This demonstration concluded at 8 p.m., hours before the Nets game ended. According to reports that have been brought to our attention, the NYPD is investigating an incident in which a Mr. Leonard Petlakh claimed he was attacked by "pro-Palestinian demonstrators" after the game and sustained a broken nose.
Adalah-NY wants to make clear that the demonstration and the alleged assault on Mr. Petlakh are two distinct events, occurring at different times of day. The demonstration was a peaceful protest and should not be conflated with a post-game altercation.
We are concerned that you and the City Council Jewish Caucus have joined together to host a panel discussion entitled "Increasing Economic Ties Between New York City and Israel," scheduled for this coming Friday morning at City Hall.
Of course you are aware that Palestinian civil society has called for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel until it ends its occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, recognizes the rights of Palestinians forced from their homes into exile, and accords equal rights to its own Palestinian citizens. This call has gained increasing support from around the world -- particularly from the European Union and its member countries.
This week Voice of Palestine interviews Hannah Mermelstein, a school librarian and Palestine solidarity activist based in Brooklyn, NY. She is an active member of Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel and has led more than 25 delegations to Palestine. We talk with Hannah about Adalah’s boycott work, the campaign against Sodasteam, and the importance and successes of the BDS movement.
