Cuomo BDS
New York governor Andrew Cuomo
The governor is ordering the state to come up with a list of groups engaged in "boycott, divestment or sanctions activity targeting Israel."

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has signed an executive order declaring an open war on companies and organizations aligned with the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, or BDS.

Cuomo announced the measure as he takes part in the largest demonstration of support for Israel in the world: the "Celebrate Israel Parade" in Manhattan, an event in which members of more than 250 organizations will march on the streets of the city that hosts the largest population of Jewish residents outside Israel.

According to The New York Times, in the executive order Cuomo announces that he will order the commissioner of the Office of General Services to devise a list over the next six months of businesses and groups engaged in any "boycott, divestment or sanctions activity targeting Israel, either directly or through a parent or subsidiary." On Twitter, Cuomo suggested that list would be used for a boycott campaign of his own.
cuomom bds tweet
© Andrew Cuomo/Twitter
The BDS movement is a global effort to promote the boycott of all Israeli goods as a means of protesting the Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestinian territories. The global campaign seeks to increase economic and political pressure on Israel to end the internationally condemned treatment of Palestinians. It has a strong presence in European countries and has made large gains recently in the United States, where student governments have voted to have their universities curtail all investments in Israeli companies.