Washington D.C. – Earlier today, House Foreign Affairs Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) gave the following remarks on the House Floor offering a motion that would have amended the bill, S.J. Res. 7, to oppose the global movement to boycott the State of Israel, known as the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. 


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-Remarks as Delivered-

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

“Let me first say the Yemen resolution before us here today is pro-Iran and anti-Israel.

“I rise today to offer a motion stating that it’s in the national security interest of the United States to oppose a global movement to boycott the state of Israel.

“This motion will not kill the bill or send it back to the committee.

“If adopted, the resolution will immediately proceed to final passage.

“As we heard from the powerful speech of the Secretary of NATO yesterday, it is in our national interest to work with our allies to counter our shared threats and promote our shared values.

“And since its founding in 1948, the United States has stood shoulder to shoulder with Israel against enemies that want to destroy it.

“And let’s be clear about the BDS Movement, it is yet another enemy of Israel. It wants to exclude, isolate and ultimately destroy Israel.

“The founder of the BDS movement has stated “we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No Palestinian will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”

“The BDS movement is not about equality. It is not about peace. It is about undermining negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians. And it is about placing all the blame on one party, and that is Israel.

“We do not support a movement that demands concessions from one party alone. We do not stand with a movement that seeks to isolate and shame our strongest ally in the Middle East.

“By weakening Israel, the global BDS movement endangers American security.

“When foreign entities like the UN foster boycotts against Israel, they are interfering with the United States’ foreign policy.

“The Senate passed a bill in its wisdom, S.1, two months ago, with overwhelming, bipartisan support to tackle BDS, better support Israel and Jordan, and sanction Assad’s brutal regime.

“Sadly, the House Democratic leadership won’t let that bill, or a House version of that bill, to this floor for a vote.

“I want to close with this, as a son of a World War II veteran, a B-17 Bombardier, who bombed the Nazi’s, who was part of the D-Day air campaign, it saddens me that we are still struggling here today with the same issues that the greatest generations defeated.

“I urge my colleagues to support this motion, and I yield back.”

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