U.S. Rep. Bob Dold (R-IL) praised Gov. Bruce Rauner last week for signing Illinois State Bill 1761, which pulled the state’s public pension funds from companies that participate in the Boycott, Sanctions, Divestment (BDS) movement targeting Israel.
“BDS is a disgusting, misguided and hateful weapon used to delegitimize Israel and those who stand with her,” Dold said. “I applaud Gov. Rauner for signing this first-of-its-kind bill into law and thank the 151 bipartisan lawmakers who unanimously passed the bill. Their work is proof that standing up for our friends in Israel by combatting anti-semitism is not a partisan issue.”
Dold, who is a member of the Bipartisan Task Force for Combatting Anti-Semitism, co-sponsored the U.S.-Israel Trade and Commercial Enhancement Act, which was signed into law earlier this year as part of the Trade Promotion Authority legislation. The bill combats the BDS movement against Israel by mandating that U.S. trade negotiators reject BDS as a principal trade objective in all Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations with the European Union.
“I remain committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand up to anti-Semitism of all kinds,” Dold said.