 Israel Day Parade. NYC, 2008 The New York State Senate passed "BILL S6378A" earlier this month, which attempts to shut down calls for boycotts on a number of so-called "allied nations". The list of nations includes members of NATO, signatories of the Southeast Asia Treaty, and Rio Treaty (excluding Venezuela - which is already on the United States' 'bad guy' list), as well as Israel, Japan, South Korea,and Ireland. The bill - one of many introduced in recent years across the United States as calls to boycott Israel have grown - takes aim at the First Amendment, U.S. anti-occupation activists and all those calling for a boycott of an 'ally', as well as any areas it controls. This means that it covers those calling for a total boycott, including the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, which calls for a boycott of Israel. It also covers those calling for a boycott of goods made in Israeli settlements and outposts in occupied territories. Everyone found to be involved in boycotting allies and businesses located on their territory or territory they "control" will be included on a state comptroller-kept blacklist. This list would include folks like Peter Beinart, who teaches at CUNY and who has called for "Zionist" boycott to "save Israel". So, just to be clear, the legislation seeks to stamp out support for the generally mainstream (in Israel and Jewish communities around the world), decades old Israeli-led boycott of settlement goods. Sounds like an anti-Israel (maybe even Anti-Semitic) law to me! Okay, too much. According to the bill a boycott:
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