(JTA) — The Virginia House of Delegates passed a resolution condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
The resolution passed Wednesday by a vote of 85-5, with nine abstentions, one day after the state Senate passed the same resolution in a voice vote.
It calls for a two-state solution and states that “the members of the General Assembly reaffirm their support for the State of Israel and oppose all attempts to economically and politically isolate Israel within the international arena, including promotion of economic, cultural, and academic boycotts, and all efforts to assault the legitimacy of the State of Israel as the sovereign homeland of the Jewish people.”
In condemning the BDS movement and its activities in Virginia, the resolution says the movement’s agenda “is inherently antithetical and deeply damaging to the causes of peace, justice, equality, democracy, and human rights for all peoples in the Middle East.”
Virginia’s organized Jewish community in a statement thanked the state’s General Assembly for passing the resolution.
“By promoting boycotts rather than constructive dialogue, BDS prevents negotiation and progress,” the statement said. “The statewide organized Jewish community appreciates the General Assembly’s continuing support of the State of Israel and thanks our legislators for rejecting BDS and standing up for reconciliation, hope, and a peaceful future in the Middle East.”
