When was the last time you heard something positive on the political front coming out of New York? Well, let’s start your Friday on a hopeful note. You’re probably already aware that there has been a movement afoot for some time now – particularly on the nation’s campus squares – seeking to force universities and corporations to divest their financial holdings from anyone and anything that supports the nation of Israel. Everyone is, of course, free to promote such an idea as part of their protected right to free speech. But what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and some legislators in New York are looking over a plan to turn the tables. As Legal Insurrection reports, the boycotters may be facing a boycott themselves.

We recently reported on legislation in Illinois barring state pension funds from investing in companies that boycott Israel…

The Illinois legislation came at a time of two pending federal bills targeting the international boycott of Israel.

But states may be where the action will be, as NY legislators plan to introduced a bill similar to the one passed in Illinois:

Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) and his colleagues are working on a bill to prevent New York State’s pension fund from doing business with companies that boycott Israel. The bill already has the support of more than a dozen Assembly Members on both sides of the aisle and follows on the overwhelming success of a similar bill that was unanimously passed in the Illinois legislature and is set to be signed by the State’s Governor.

“Thanks to a well-oiled propaganda machine, Israel is a uniquely vilified nation state,” Hikind said. “The BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), the strategy of economic warfare, is rooted in anti-Semitism and a denial of Israel’s right to exist. It’s purpose is to delegitimize Israel.

New York should be fertile ground for such legislation since it’s Human Rights Law already bars discriminatory boycotts based on national origin. That law played an important role in the Ithaca, NY, GreenStar Food Coop rejecting an anti-Israel boycott petition.

As I’ve said before, boycotts are rarely an effective method of protest in the long run unless you find a problem with a public entity which truly riles up the masses. If you are pushing a boycott to make a point for a position which not only fails to resonate with the public at large, but runs counter to popular opinion, it may backfire on you. (Look how well the Chick Fil A boycott worked out… they’re bigger than ever.)

Boycotting Israel is a risky proposition even in the bluest of areas. The main problem is that no matter how much sympathy you may have for the Palestinians, Israel remains a staunch and popular ally of the United States. Even in a place like New York, where liberal doctrine runs wild, direct attacks on Israel are met with a raised eyebrow at a minimum. If you can’t get away with this in Illinois and New York, it’s not going to sell very well anywhere in the nation. And now that state governments are striking back, the BDS movement may be seeing the beginning of the end.