Thomas R. Suozzi: “I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the BDS campaign has been heralded by critics…”

“I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the BDS campaign has been heralded by critics and enemies of Israel as a penalty for what they claim is Israel's oppression of the Palestine people. Nothing could be further from the truth. These critics and enemies of Israel are, in reality, simply adding the BDS campaign to their arsenal of weapons to try and isolate, weaken, delegitimize, and, ultimately, destroy the State of Israel, as they have for decades. For over 70 years, Israelis have faced repeated terrorism, bombs detonated on public buses, in cafes, and at religious observances. This terrorism has been beaten back by a nation simply trying to defend itself and persevere under withering attacks. So now Israel's enemies have adopted a new strategy. BDS is an anti- Semitic movement, plain and simple. The founder of BDS, Omar Barghouti, said it very clearly: `` . . . we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No Palestinian . . . will ever accept a Jewish state.'' The goals of BDS are clear. Just read their words. Israel shall not and cannot yield. And we in the United States must stand with our ally that shares our values and has also worked with us. Mr. Speaker, I urge strong bipartisan support of this bill.”