boycott israel
© Saeed Qaq/APA Images
On December 7, a day after President Trump announced that the U.S. was recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, 13 Massachusetts legislators made their way to Israel as fully-subsidized guests of a lobby group, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston. They were due back on December 17.

They were accompanied by JCRC head Jeremy Burton, who reports on the JCRC website that he has taken a third of the current sitting members of the Massachusetts legislature to Israel during the past six years, and loves being able "to witness as our participants fall in love with the leaders and activists who've inspired and energized me for years."

The impact of the lovefest with Israel will hardly have had time to wear off before three members of the 2017 JCRC delegation are slated to vote on whether the bill against Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) drafted and heavily pushed by the JCRC should be given the thumbs up by their State Administration and Regulatory Oversight Committee and passed to Ways and Means, which is chaired by another member of the current trip.