Tennessee State Capitol Building in Nashville. Photo: Andre Porter/Wikimedia Commons

Jewish leaders commended the Tennessee General Assembly on Tuesday for passing a measure that prohibits companies participating in BDS-style boycotts of Israel from receiving state contracts, while separate legislation combatting antisemitism in the classroom advanced in the state House.

Signed into law by Governor Governor Bill Lee on Friday,  SB 1993 decreed that state contracts must include “a written certification that the company is not currently engaged in, and will not for the duration of the contract engage in a boycott of Israel.”

The second bill, a measure applying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to K-12 disciplinary proceedings, was passed by the House on Monday, and will be voted on by the Senate on Friday.

“We applaud the Tennessee legislature and Governor Bill Lee for passing and signing the legislation prohibiting state contracts with companies engaged in the bigoted Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement,” leaders from the Conference of President of Major Jewish Organizations said on Tuesday, of the first effort. “Tennessee joins a majority of US states that have taken this critical step in the fight against antisemitism and discriminatory boycotts in the form of adopted laws, executive orders, and resolutions.”

The group also said the bill “demonstrates Tennessee’s firm commitment to Israel” and criticized BDS for aiming to “destroy Israel and the promise of the Jewish homeland through economic warfare” instead of proposing measures that foster peace in the Middle East.

It continued, “We advise any corporations engaging with the BDS movement or considering similar actions to take into account the reputational damage, as well as the legal complications, association with anti-Israel activities, particularly at a time when acts of antisemitism are on the rise at home and abroad.”

In March, Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa signed a measure similar to Tennessee’s, HF2220, that banned state pension funds from purchasing corporate bonds and stock issued by companies boycotting Israel, and another that adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism. During a signing ceremony for the bills, Reynolds said they signal that “Iowa continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with the State of Israel, one of America’s most important and reliable allies.”

35 US States have passed anti-BDS laws, with West Virginia, Idaho, and Utah joining the fold in 2021.