British Parliament takes aim at anti-Semitism, seeks to ban anti-Israel BDS boycotts

The British Parliament is considering legislation that would prohibit local governments from boycotting Israeli goods in a direct assault on the liberal Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. 

The legislation being introduced this week will impose steep fines on offending communities. 

Michael Gove, the British Minister for Local Government,  told the Telegraph newspaper that the goals are to unify foreign policy so that Britain speaks with one voice, and to address a growing tide of anti-Semitism.

“It is simply unacceptable that public bodies have used taxpayers' time and money to pursue their own foreign policy agenda," he said. "The UK needs to adopt a coherent approach to foreign policy, defined by the British government."

"This is not only damaging to UK foreign policy, it also leads to appalling anti-Semitic  rhetoric and abuse. We have therefore taken this decisive step to end these disruptive policies once and for all," he added.

The legislation comes as anti-Israel bias has been growing across the European continent.

A new poll released last month by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that a quarter of Europeans share anti-Semitic sentiments.