Wisconsin has made the last US state joining others in a campaign which targets firms supporting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), campaign against Israel.
Wisconsin joins US states targeting firms boycotting Israel
presstv , 29 Oct 2017 - 14:18
Wisconsin has made the last US state joining others in a campaign which targets firms supporting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), campaign against Israel.
Governor Scott Walker signed an executive order prohibiting state agencies from engaging in business with entities that support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
"We stand firmly against discrimination in any form and we wholly support our friends in Israel," Walker said in a statement on Friday. “I look forward to leading a trade delegation to Israel to foster new trade partnerships between Wisconsin and Israeli businesses.”
The Republican governor also threw his weight behind legislation, introduced this month by a pair of state legislators, which would bar companies engaged in boycotts of Israel from getting state contracts.
Walker said that trade between his state and the Israeli regime was flourishing, “with Wisconsin exporting over $80 million annually to Israel and importing over $200 million annually from Israel.”
Wisconsin is the 24th US state to take measures forbidding the state from doing business with companies targeting Israel as part of the BDS movement.
On Monday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan issued a similar executive order that banned firms that boycott Israel from state contracts.
Last week, the city of Dickinson, Texas, sparked widespread condemnation when it required residents to sign a no-boycott pledge in exchange for disaster aid to recover from Harvey, a devastating hurricane that made landfall in August.
Story Code: 290893