The Georgia General Assembly. Photo: Wikipedia.

JNS.org – The Georgia General Assembly became the latest state legislature to approve a bill that seeks to deter companies from taking part in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

The bill declares that Georgia state agencies “will not contract or invest with a company that unfairly singles out Israel for political purposes.” One of its co-sponsors, Republican State Sen. Judson Hill, called the legislation “a critical step forward in defending Georgia’s state economy and public policy” and said it is “taking a stand against the antisemitism and discrimination of the BDS movement.”

The Georgia measure was supported by a number of pro-Israel groups, including The Israel Project.

“The US-Israel relationship is based on shared values, and opposing bigotry in all its forms is fundamental to the people of both nations,” said Jacob Milner, The Israel Project’s Midwest regional director and senior policy analyst. “As I have seen over the past several months working on this effort, Georgians don’t want their state supporting the anti-Semitic BDS efforts, and that’s why the legislature voted to prevent this insidious movement from gaining a foothold here.”

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal is expected to sign the bill into law.