Israel American Coalition for Action head Shawn Evenhaim. Photo: Abraham Joseph Pal.

JNS.org – The Israeli American Council (IAC) marked a significant achievement this week when the California legislature passed a bill barring all state bodies, including universities, from maintaining ties with organizations that support anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions activities, Israel Hayom learned Thursday.

The bill prohibits state bodies from investing in companies “engaging in actions that are politically motivated and are intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with the State of Israel, or companies based in the State of Israel or in territories controlled by the State of Israel.”

The bill was the result of considerable lobbying efforts by the IAC, which seeks to counteract the BDS movement on legal, technological and public diplomacy levels.

Likewise, on Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a bill banning the state’s pension fund from investing in companies that boycott Israel.

“This bill sends a significant message: The hatred the BDS movement seeks to spread will have no room in California,” Shawn Evenhaim, of the IAC-affiliated Israel American Coalition for Action, told Israel Hayom Thursday.

“This bill is important because it makes it clear that [California] taxpayers don’t have to fund boycott activities. … We’re proud of the fact we were able to spur the Israeli-American community to push for this bill, as it will now, and in the future, protect California’s diverse population from discrimination.”