Photo Credit: Jewish Press

The Village Council of Bal Harbour unanimously passed a resolution prohibiting the village from contracting with any business unless the contract includes a representation that the business is not currently engaged in, and will not engage in, the boycott of a person or an entity based in or doing business with a country or jurisdiction with which the United States has free trade or other agreements aimed at ensuring open and nondiscriminatory trade regulations, such as the state of Israel.

“Bal Harbour,” said Councilman Gabriel Groisman, who presented the resolution, “has a history of discrimination which residents of years past fought hard to change. There was a time where African-Americans and Jews were not permitted to even own homes in Bal Harbour. Thankfully, these practices have changed and Bal Harbour is now a symbol of diversity and success in the state of Florida. Now is our chance to be leaders on these very issues.

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“Recently we have seen the increase in efforts to boycott and otherwise discriminate individuals on the basis of nationality or ethnicity. Leading this effort is a campaign to delegitimize the democratic state of Israel, through a movement called BDS, which leads efforts to boycott, divest and sanction businesses, academics and others from, or related to, the state of Israel. Make no mistake about it, the BDS movement is a bigoted, global propaganda campaign against Israel and is thin cover for anti-Semitism –the levels of which we have not seen in the Western world in over 60 years.”

The Council – Mayor Martin Packer, Assistant Mayor Patricia Cohen, Councilman Jamie Sanz, Councilman Seth Salver, and Councilman Gabriel Groisman –voted 5-0 in support of the resolution.

Councilman Groisman can be reached at [email protected] and 305-858-2900.

 

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Shelley Benveniste is South Florida editor of The Jewish Press.