Parliament votes to reject Israel boycott campaign
Posted on 23 February 2016
Parliament has voted by a wide margin to condemn the growing international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign being waged against Israel for what is alleged to be the Jewish state’s failure to accord equal rights to Arabs in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
The motion, introduced by the Opposition Conservative Party, called for the House to “reject the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which promotes the demonization and delegitimization of the State of Israel,” and the government to “condemn any and all attempts by Canadian organizations, groups or individuals to promote the BDS movement, both here at home and abroad.”
The governing Liberals mostly supported the motion, making the final tally 229 in favour of condemning the BDS movement with 51 opposed. The NDP voted against the measure, not because it likes the BDS movement, Leader Tom Mulcair said, but because it doesn’t like to see the stifling of free expression. Only the Bloc Québécois argued that the BDS campaign constitutes legitimate criticism of Israeli policies.
Israel is increasingly concerned with the successes of the boycott and divestment efforts. In 2014, foreign direct investment in Israel dropped 46 per cent from the previous year, in part, a United Nations report said, because of BDS efforts.
Read in full: Parliament votes to reject Israel boycott campaign