Florida strengthens anti-Israel boycott law

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 2/9/23-Rep. Hillary Cassel, D-Dania Beach, speaks in favor of the Intercollegiate Athlete Compensation and Rights Thursday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

The House has passed an anti-boycott, divest, sanction (BDS) measure (SB 1678) that backers say would defend Israel in schools and nongovernmental agencies.

“The bill aims to strengthen existing anti-boycott laws against Israel. The bill focuses on amending sections of Florida statutes related to prohibited investments, art and cultural grants, and contracting with scrutinized companies,” said Republican Rep. Hillary Cassel, the House sponsor.

Billed as an attempt to stymy a so-called “academic boycott,” the legislation gives Gov. Ron DeSantis, the man who calls himself the most pro-Israel Governor in the country, a chance to prove his bona fides again. The Senate approved the bill earlier this month.

The measure proposes that anti-Israeli actions undertaken by “an educational institution, a nonprofit organization, an agency, a local governmental entity or unit thereof, or a foreign government” amount to an “academic boycott.”

The bill also would mandate cessation of state contracts and grants with those entities if they don’t change their ways.

These entities would have 90 days to correct their noncompliance and be removed from what would be called the Scrutinized Companies or Other Entities that Boycott Israel List. Otherwise, the state would divest itself of contracts with them.

If the bill is passed, public funds, such as the State Board of Administration or State University System, cannot invest in these companies. Additionally, it requires that arts and culture grants not go to support antisemitic work.

The bill would also target agreements, like foreign exchange programs, with foreign universities deemed to be supporting antisemitism.

Arguing for the bill, Democratic Rep. Michael Gottlieb said the bill is especially necessary given a “marked increase in antisemitism” in recent years, which has led to verbal abuse and violence attacks and threatens not just Jewish people but democracy itself.

Democratic Rep. Debra Tendrich said businesses often have “stood idly by” when people are targeted for their Jewish faith, with “crowds of people” yelling at them as they walk into worship services.

House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell argued that the provision clamping down on arts and culture grants hazards a constitutional conflict, given the “quite subjective” definition of antisemitic speech. But she voted for the bill anyway.

Cassel countered that the provision has nothing to do with free speech, but rather reflects decisions to program tax dollars and the government’s discretion not to fund antisemitic behavior, as defined in Florida Statutes.

Democratic Reps. Anna Eskamani, Dotie Joseph and Angie Nixon were the only “no” votes.