On June 5 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law an executive order aimed at the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement. In Cuomo’s order there is a provision that requires the state to create a list of companies that participate in the BDS movement. The list aims to publicly shame and financially harm those who exercise their First Amendment right of political protest. And though Cuomo’s order will not stand up to a challenge in court, the list itself will cause extreme harm and damage — and that’s the plan.

Why is it OK for Senator Chuck Schumer to tell an Orthodox Jewish audience that he “worried” that his daughter had a non-Jewish boyfriend? America is too sophisticated for such prejudice, and Jews are too empowered to get away with such xenophobia.

Dr. Jill Stein is running for president as a member of the Green Party and yesterday her campaign released a statement on US Foreign Policy, Palestine-Israel, and BDS: “the Stein campaign supports actions of nonviolent resistance to the policies of the occupation and of the Israeli apartheid regime, including those of the global boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign, which was endorsed by the Green Party of the United States in 2005 and is supported by thousands of civil society peace activists and organizations.”

Blue and white banners filled Jerusalem yesterday to mark 49 years of Israeli rule in the city. Crowds of settler youth chanted the slogan “the Jewish nation lives” as they marched under the ramparts of Damascus Gate. Many wore stickers supporting rabbi Meir Kahane, a former Knesset member kicked out of the government after calling for violence against Arabs, while others pasted their clothes with decals backing a greater Israel, a Jewish-nationalist movement that seeks to annex the occupied Palestinian territory. Meanwhile, Palestinians were barred from sections of the city and postponed the start of their own festivities for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to avoid conflicts with the settlers.

PEN’s Suzanne Nossel seems to say that advocating for BDS is a free speech right, but also suggests that a campus may regulate speech that makes others feel “marginalized” or “threatened” in order to maintain a “respectful community.” But she justifies an award to Charlie Hebdo, which insults Muslims right and left.

“Why is this happening now?” That’s the question a senior adviser to President Obama asked Donna Baranski-Walker of the Rebuilding Alliance when her team with him last week to urge the President’s leadership to stop the crisis of demolitions underway in Area C of the West Bank. Baranski-Walker writes, “Tangible action by the President, Senators and Representatives, and by U.S. citizens as their constituents, is needed now to recognize Palestinian planning rights and stop the demolitions of Palestinian homes, barns, schools and water cisterns in Palestine’s Area C.”

Kamal Kafarna could not be happier. He is harvesting his wheat with his own hands from his land that he was prevented from accessing for fifteen years because it is located just a hundred meters away from the boundary line between Israel and the Gaza Strip. “I am very delighted that I have been given one day to harvest my yields. This piece of land is mine, but I was not able to tend it for long years because it is feared that I might be shot by the Israeli soldiers who monitor the boundary areas with Gaza,” he tells Isra Saleh El-Namy.

“Governor Cuomo has decided that his moral compass points in the direction of Joseph McCarthy rather than Rosa Parks,” Katherine Franke says after the NY Governor signs an executive order against BDS, boycott, divestment and sanctions, with the Israel lobby and Israeli consul at his side at the Harvard Club in NY

As Donald Trump plans his first trip to Israel as a presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton’s team promises to fight BDS and protect Israel in the Democratic Party platform. Katie Miranda says only Bernie Sanders seems focused in the U.S.

Iris Keltz reflects on the 49th anniversary of the 1967 war: “Yesterday Israelis celebrated Jerusalem Day, Yom Yerushalayim, a day commemorating the reunification of the Old City under Israeli control control. I too mark this day on my calendar but in a different way. When the Israelis were euphorically celebrating their victory I was experiencing the fear of war and the humiliation of defeat. I may have been the only Jewish person who was living with a Palestinian family during that war.”