June 5, 2017 — Washington, D.C.
A full-page AJC ad in today's Wall Street Journal salutes the nation’s 50 governors and the mayor of the District of Columbia for joining an AJC initiative to affirm their rejection of the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement against Israel.
“Governors across our country know very well the enormous value of the U.S.-Israel partnership in every sphere imaginable, and many have been central to nurturing their own state’s beneficial ties to Israel,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “At the same time, our nation’s 50 governors, as well as the District of Columbia mayor, recognize the pernicious goals of the BDS movement, which singles out democratic Israel from among all of the nations of the world for relentless and undue criticism, and whose efforts undermine the prospects for advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace.”
Included in the AJC ad are several important components of the Governors Against BDS statement and the full list of signatories. The full statement is available at www.ajc.org/governors.
In the full-page ad, the governors affirm:
- “The goals of the BDS movement are antithetical to our values and the values of our respective states.
- “We support Israel as a vital U.S. ally, important economic partner and champion of freedom.”
- “The BDS movement’s single-minded focus on the Jewish State raises serious questions about its motivations and intentions.”
- “Israel is a robust democracy with many rights and freedoms that do not exist in neighboring countries—or in much of the world. Yet, while fundamental rights are trampled and atrocities are committed routinely not far beyond its borders, BDS supporters focus only on Israel.”
- “The BDS movement would also undermine peacemaking by suggesting that economic and political pressure on Israel can replace real negotiation.”
- “Our commitment to the principle of two states for two peoples, existing side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition, and achieved through direct, bilateral negotiations.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R), New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), and Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy (D), are co-chairs of the national, bipartisan Governors United Against BDS initiative.
