III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 120 

Opposing efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the Global Boycott, 

Divestment, and Sanctions Movement targeting Israel. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 25, 2019 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Opposing efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the 

Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement 

targeting Israel. 

Whereas the democratic Jewish State of Israel is a key ally 

and strategic partner of the United States; 

Whereas, since Israel’s founding in 1948, Congress has repeatedly expressed our Nation’s unwavering commitment 

to the security of Israel as a Jewish and democratic 

state; 

Whereas United States policy has long sought to bring peace 

to the Middle East and recognized that both the Israeli 

and Palestinian people should be able to live in safe and 

sovereign states, free from fear and violence, with mutual 

recognition; 


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•SRES 120 IS 

Whereas support for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians has long-standing bipartisan support in Congress; 

Whereas it is the long-standing policy of the United States 

that a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should come through direct negotiations between the 

Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with 

the support of countries in the region and around the 

world; 

Whereas it is a hallmark of American democracy for citizens 

to petition the United States Government in favor of or 

against United States foreign policy; 

Whereas cooperation between Israel and the United States is 

of great importance, especially in the context of rising 

anti-Semitism, authoritarianism, and security problems in 

Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa; 

Whereas the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions 

Movement (BDS Movement) targeting Israel is a campaign that does not favor a two-state solution and that 

seeks to exclude the State of Israel and the Israeli people 

from the economic, cultural, and academic life of the rest 

of the world; 

Whereas the BDS Movement targets not only the Government of Israel, but also academic, cultural, and civil society institutions in Israel, as well as individual Israeli citizens of all political persuasions, religions, and ethnicities, 

and in some cases even Jews of other nationalities who 

support Israel; 

Whereas the BDS Movement does not recognize, and many 

of its supporters explicitly deny, the right of the Jewish 

people to national self-determination; 


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•SRES 120 IS 

Whereas a founder of the BDS Movement has denied the 

right of the Jewish people in their homeland, saying, ‘‘We 

oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No Palestinian, rational Palestinian, not a sell-out Palestinian, 

will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.’’; 

Whereas university-based BDS efforts violate the core goals 

of the university and global cultural development, which 

thrive on free and open exchange and debate; and 

Whereas the BDS Movement promotes principles of collective 

guilt, mass punishment, and group isolation, which are 

destructive of prospects for progress towards peace and 

a two-state solution: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) opposes the Global Boycott, Divestment, 

3 and Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement) tar4 geting Israel, including efforts to target United 

5 States companies that are engaged in commercial 

6 activities that are legal under United States law and 

7 all efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel; 

8 (2) affirms that the BDS Movement under9 mines the possibility for a negotiated solution to the 

10 Israeli-Palestinian conflict by demanding concessions 

11 of one party alone and encouraging the Palestinians 

12 to reject negotiations in favor of international pres13 sure; 

14 (3) urges Israelis and Palestinians to return to 

15 direct negotiations as the only way to achieve an end 

16 to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; 


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•SRES 120 IS 

1 (4) supports the full implementation of the 

2 United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 

3 2014 (Public Law 113–296; 128 Stat. 4075) and 

4 new efforts to enhance governmentwide, coordinated 

5 United States-Israel scientific and technological co6 operation in civilian areas, such as with respect to 

7 energy, water, agriculture, alternative fuel tech8 nology, civilian space technology, and security, in 

9 order to counter the effects of actions to boycott, di10 vest from, or sanction Israel; and 

11 (5) reaffirms its strong support for a negotiated 

12 solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting 

13 in two states—a democratic Jewish State of Israel 

14 and a viable democratic Palestinian state—living 

15 side-by-side in peace, security, and mutual recogni16 tion. 

Æ 


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