Anti-BDS Statements

May 3, 2016 Portman, Cardin Call on State Department, USTR to Reject Anti-Israel U.S. Human Rights Council Resolution

May 9, 2016 JTA Hillary Clinton calls BDS movement ‘harmful’ on eve of vote in her Methodist Church

President Obama ( Feb. 24, 2016 ):

I have directed my Administration to strongly oppose boycotts, divestment campaigns, and sanctions targeting the State of Israel.  As long as I am President, we will continue to do so.

Vice President Joe Biden (March 2016):

We will continue to push back against the call here in the United States for people to boycott, divest, or sanction Israel.  It’s wrong.  It’s wrong.  It’s wrong.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her speech at the 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference (March 21, 2016):

Many of the young people here today are on the front lines of the battle to oppose the alarming boycott, divestment and sanctions movement known as BDS.  Particularly at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise across the world, especially in Europe, we must repudiate all efforts to malign, isolate and undermine Israel and the Jewish people.

Governor John R. Kasich in his speech at the 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference (March 21, 2016):

Believe me, a Kasich administration will work from the beginning to block and eliminate any form of intolerance, bigotry, racism, or anti-Semitism, whether domestic or international, particularly in international bodies.  I condemn all attempts to isolate, pressure and delegitimize the state of Israel.

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro at the Yediot Aharonot/Ynet “Stop the Boycott” Conference (March 28, 2016):

The United States of America vigorously opposes efforts to isolate or boycott Israel.  We have demonstrated this commitment for decades and continue to devote substantial resources in our government to this fight.  We consider it an extension of our longstanding commitment to fight any effort to delegitimize Israel.

Senator Rob Portman on his bipartisan amendment with Senator Ben Cardin to the Trade Promotion Authority legislation aimed at combating the anti-Israel BDS movement (April, 2015):

This amendment sends a clear message that if you want to be an economic partner with the United States, you cannot support politically motivated boycotts of Israel.  I’m pleased that it was successfully included in this legislation because it says the United States will not stand with those who attempt to weaken Israel.

Excerpt from a letter from Reps. Joyce Beatty, Steve Stivers, and Pat Tiberi to the members of the Undergraduate Student Government at The Ohio State University in response to a proposed BDS bill (March 21, 2016):

It is precisely because of our commitment to a lasting peace that we oppose measures promoted by the campaign known as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.  Efforts to politically, economically and culturally isolate Israel breed discrimination and hate, and are not reflective of the values that we as Americans hold dear. […] Since its inception, the BDS movement has failed to bring Israelis and Palestinians together in peace.