Congressional Republicans continue to push legislation that targets the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and their first move of 2020 is the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.

In an interview with the New York Times editorial board Amy Klobuchar also cited her strong record of pro-Israel votes in the Senate. “I still think that they are in a really tough neighborhood in a really dangerous position,” she explained, “And made worse by what Trump just did with Syria because now Iran has a foothold there.”

On January 14, South Dakota’s Republican Governor Kristi Noem signed an executive order that prohibits state offices from doing business with companies that boycott Israel. South Dakota becomes the 28th state to pass legislation that targets the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Last week, Jewish and Palestinian student activists with the group Jewish Voice for Peace were in Iowa to demand that Democratic candidates stop funding Israel’s occupation and embrace Palestinian rights.

The Department of Education is investigating another university over pro-Palestine events. The move comes just one month after President Trump signed an executive order that effectively allows the government to crack down on pro-Palestine campus organizing.

On January 9, Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced H. Res. 782. The legislation, which is cosponsored by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) and David Kustoff (R-TN), would encourage “public schools to design and teach a curriculum about the history of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, and the vital and historic importance of the Jewish State of Israel.” The bill also cites the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which it claims is spreading “rampant anti-Semitism” across college campuses.

86% of right-wing Israelis, 67% of Israeli centrists, and even 37% of “left-wing” Israelis say they trust Trump. Israel was also the only country where a majority of respondents said they agree with his administration violating the Iran Nuclear Deal. Just 23% of those surveyed opposed the move. 74% of Israelis back his decision to move the United States Embassy to Tel Aviv.

A new University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll gives us further insight into what Americans think about the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. One obvious conclusion is the high-profile BDS battles of 2019 have raised awareness for the movement, and that awareness has come with increased support.

In 2016, the Arizona Legislature passed HB 2617. The legislation (which was signed into law by Governor Doug Ducey) prohibited the state from investing or contracting with groups that boycott Israel. The law also established a blacklist of businesses that support the BDS movement. The legislation prompted a challenge from Mikkel Jordahl, the owner of a law firm that contracts with Coconino County Jail District to provide legal services for prisoners. He’s a supporter of BDS and the law required him to certify that his firm would not engage in the boycott. 

Last month, two civil rights complaints were filed against Columbia University in the wake of the Trump administration’s recent executive order on campus antisemitism. The Lawfare Project launched one complaint on behalf of an Israeli-American student who claims he was a victim of “systematic discrimination” from professors and pro-Palestine groups such as Students for Justice for Palestine and Columbia University Apartheid Divest.