Show-Me State Times

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nicole Galloway said she didn’t know much about a law designed to protect Israeli interests that passed the Missouri Legislature this spring and was signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson in July.

But Galloway, the state auditor, after first saying she opposed the law, has now said she supports it.

The Anti-Discrimination Against Israel Act prohibits the state from doing business with firms that boycott Israel. It only pertains to contracts worth more than $100,000 in value and companies with more than 10 employees.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement promote boycotts, divestments and sanctions against Israel, saying the country violates international law, demanding it withdraw from occupied territories, removing the separation barrier along the West Bank and providing equality for Arab-Palestinians living in Israel. The Palestinian BDS National Committee is the driving force behind it.

The BDS movement has been called “anti-Semitic in its opposition to Zionism and promoting the delegitimization of Israel and denying the country its right to exist and self-determination” by The Jerusalem Post.

The Missouri Legislature overwhelmingly approved the law this spring. It passed the state Senate 28-1 on April 30 and was approved in the state House 95-40 on May 14.

Parson signed it into law July 13.

At a 78th District town hall on Dec. 11, 2019, when asked about anti-BDS legislation that has since passed, Galloway said she was not familiar with the issue and wondered if it was the kind of bill that was repeatedly introduced with little chance of passing.

She said that the legislation “didn’t seem reasonable” and that she “[didn’t] imagine that [she] would sign that into law.” Galloway also said she supported people’s right to freedom of speech and “their right to boycott things. Absolutely.”

The state’s actions against the BDS movement won praise from most Jewish leaders and their supporters.

“The Legislature has taken bold action to combat the insidious and hateful BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] movement that singles out Israel and encourages punitive actions against its economy and citizens,” American Jewish Committee St. Louis regional director Nancy Lisker said in a statement after the Senate approved the law. “We look forward to Gov. Parson signing this important bill into law. Israelis and Palestinians want peace, they want investment not divestment, and they want for the whole region to prosper. Through this legislation both economies, Missouri’s and Israel’s, will continue to grow.”

StandWithUs CEO and co-founder Roz Rothstein echoed that in a statement.

“Since Israel’s establishment in 1948, the Jewish state has faced countless efforts aimed at isolating and undermining its very existence,” Rothstein said. “Missouri has made it clear that it will not tolerate singling out and targeting the world’s only Jewish state.”

Christians United for Israel (CUFI) founder and chairman Pastor John Hagee said the law would be strongly supported by his group.

“CUFI’s more than 200,000 members across Missouri and more than 8 million members across the country are grateful to the Missouri Legislature for unequivocally saying ‘no’ to the anti-Semitic BDS movement,” Hagee said in a statement. “Taxpayer dollars should never be doled out to those who seek to destroy the Jewish state.”

However, Rabbi Daniel Bogard of the Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis testified against the bill in February.

“I fear that by alienating and angering the liberal audiences that BDS seeks to engage and recruit, that this bill actually empowers the BDS movement,” Bogard said. “And I worry that any attempt to carve out a special status for Israel – the only nation-state of the Jewish people – only serves to ultimately reinforce the worst conspiracy theories of anti-Semites on the left and on the right.”

Anti-BDS laws have a great deal of support across the country in states controlled politically by both Republicans and Democrats. Twenty-four states have approved anti-BDS legislation and governors in six other states signed anti-boycott executive orders, according to PalestineLegal.org.

The states that enacted anti-boycott laws are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas.

The governors of Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, South Dakota and Wisconsin signed anti-boycott executive orders.

Some liberal politicians have taken a stance against anti-BDS legislation, including St. Louis congressional candidate Cori Bush, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), all Democrats.

The Galloway campaign responded to questions Saturday, after this story was originally published. Her spokesman, Kevin Donohoe, said she now supports the law

“Israel is one of our country’s closest allies and partners — and as governor, Auditor Galloway looks forward to visiting Israel and building upon the work of governors of both parties to strengthen the bond between Missouri and Israel,” Donohoe told Show-Me State Times. “Auditor Galloway does not support BDS and is opposed to efforts to delegitimize Israel on the world stage. As governor, she would have signed the Anti-Discrimination Against Israel Act.”