•HRES 246 EH 
flict 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 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 cam-
paign 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 Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions 
Movement is one of several recent political movements 
that undermines the possibility for a negotiated solution 
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by demanding conces-
sions of one party alone and encouraging the Palestinians 
to reject negotiations in favor of international pressure; 
Whereas the founder of the Global BDS Movement, Omar 
Barghouti, 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 Pales-
tinian, not a sell-out Palestinian, will ever accept a Jew-
ish state in Palestine.’’; 
Whereas the Global BDS Movement targets not only the 
Israeli government but also Israeli academic, cultural, 
and civil society institutions, as well as individual Israeli 
citizens of all political persuasions, religions, and
•HRES 246 EH 
ethnicities, and in some cases even Jews of other nation-
alities who support Israel; 
Whereas the Global BDS Movement does not recognize, and 
many of its supporters explicitly deny, the right of the 
Jewish people to national self-determination; 
Whereas university-based Global BDS efforts violate the core 
goals of the university and global cultural development, 
which thrive on free and open exchange and debate, and 
in some cases, leads to the intimidation and harassment 
of Jewish students and others who support Israel; 
Whereas the Global 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; 
Whereas boycotts and similar tools aimed at promoting racial 
justice and social change have been used effectively in the 
United States, South Africa, and other parts of the 
world; and 
Whereas in contrast to protest movements that have sought 
racial justice and social change, the Global Boycott, Di-
vestment and Sanctions Movement targeting Israel is not 
about promoting coexistence, civil rights, and political 
reconciliation but about questioning and undermining the 
very legitimacy of the country and its people: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) opposes the Global Boycott, Divestment, and 
Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement) targeting Israel, 
including efforts to target United States companies that 
are engaged in commercial activities that are legal under
•HRES 246 EH 
United States law, and all efforts to delegitimize the 
State of Israel; 
(2) urges Israelis and Palestinians to return to di-
rect negotiations as the only way to achieve an end to 
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; 
(3) affirms the Constitutional right of United 
States citizens to free speech, including the right to pro-
test or criticize the policies of the United States or for-
eign governments; 
(4) supports the full implementation of the United 
States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 (Public 
Law 113–296; 128 Stat. 4075) and new efforts to en-
hance government-wide, coordinated United States-Israel 
scientific and technological cooperation in civilian areas, 
such as with respect to energy, water, agriculture, alter-
native fuel technology, civilian space technology, and se-
curity, in order to counter the effects of actions to boy-
cott, divest from, or sanction Israel; and 
(5) reaffirms its strong support for a negotiated so-
lution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two 
states—a democratic Jewish State of Israel, and a via-
•HRES 246 EH 
ble, democratic Palestinian state—living side-by-side in 
peace, security, and mutual recognition. 
Attest: 
Clerk.