{"id":168538,"date":"2026-06-19T23:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T23:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/168538\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T23:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T23:49:16","slug":"jewish-groups-warn-somerville-over-israel-boycott-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/168538\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewish groups warn Somerville over Israel boycott law"},"content":{"rendered":"

They can\u2019t say they weren\u2019t warned.<\/p>\n

Jewish groups are giving a heads-up to Somerville<\/a> officials that they will certainly be sued if the city\u2019s proposed \u201cIsrael boycott\u201d law passes.<\/p>\n

The Anti-Defamation League<\/a> and Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law on Thursday urged city officials to reject the controversial ordinance.<\/p>\n

The groups, writing on behalf of Somerville Jewish residents, argue that the law is unconstitutional<\/a> and would expose the city to significant legal and financial risks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ordinance is flagrantly unconstitutional and would adversely affect many companies that supply products to Somerville,\u201d lawyers for the Jewish groups wrote to Somerville officials. \u201cMoreover, the Ordinance is an invitation to costly and unnecessary litigation that will distract City leadership from the important local responsibilities they were elected to address.
\"Pro-PalestinianPro-Palestinian signage was commonplace in Somerville, Massachusetts, during the Gaza war and in the lead-up to a successful Israel boycott ballot initiative, as seen Aug. 24, 2025. (credit: Philissa Cramer VIA JTA)’Reject this ordinance!’<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urge the Council and City to reject the Ordinance,\u201d the attorneys added. \u201cShould the Ordinance be enacted in its current form, our clients are prepared to pursue all available legal remedies to prevent its enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposed \u201cEthical Procurement Ordinance\u201d was before the Somerville City Council last week and was referred to the Legislative Matters Committee for a recommendation.<\/p>\n

Last year, 55% of voters in the Somerville municipal election voted \u201cyes\u201d to instruct the city to \u201cend all current city business and prohibit future city investments and contracts with companies as long as such companies engage in business that sustains Israel\u2019s apartheid<\/a>, genocide, and illegal occupation of Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The City Council then passed a resolution to follow through on that vote, leading to this proposed ordinance.<\/p>\n

The ordinance reads, \u201cThe city may not procure, contract for, hire, or retain labor or services performed, or goods produced, by an entity whose contracts, services, or operations\u2026 provide material support to, or derive revenue from material support provided to entities engaged in conduct recognized under international law to constitute apartheid, genocide, unlawful military occupation, or conduct recognized to constitute systematic violation of international humanitarian law, including without limitation in Israel and Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to investments, \u201cThe city may not purchase financial equities or bonds that constitute investment in entities whose contracts, services, or operations provide material support to, or derive revenue from material support provided to entities engaged in conduct recognized under international law to constitute apartheid, genocide, unlawful military occupation, or conduct recognized to constitute systematic violation of international humanitarian law, including without limitation in Israel and Palestine, so long as alternatives with equivalent or better financial prospects are available.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jewish groups writing to city officials warn that the proposed ordinance would deepen community divisions, expose taxpayers to costly litigation, harm local businesses, and isolate Jewish and Israeli residents.<\/p>\n

According to the organizations, Jewish families have reported intimidation, harassment, vandalism, and exclusion, and some have felt compelled to leave the city because of the hostility they experienced.<\/p>\n

ADL recorded a total of 279 antisemitic incidents in Massachusetts last year, including 39% related to Israel or Zionism.<\/p>\n

\u201cPassing this ordinance will not make Somerville Jews and Jews throughout Massachusetts \u2013 who are experiencing harassment, vandalism, and intimidation \u2013 safer or more welcome in the community,\u201d said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of ADL. \u201cBDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) has never been about peace; it\u2019s about casting Israel and the Jewish people as uniquely deserving of punishment. This is a moment for local leaders to stand with all their constituents, including their Jewish constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n

City council members support the ordinance<\/p>\n

Somerville City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen is one of the councilors backing the ordinance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Somerville residents exercising their democratic voice about how their tax dollars are spent,\u201d the councilor said in response to the warning letter. \u201cI welcome all feedback, but will not be deterred by outside organizations, particularly ones with a well-documented record of conflating criticism of Israeli government policy with antisemitism, from listening to our own constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n

City Councilor Will Mbah added that it\u2019s important to support the will of the voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an immigrant from Cameroon, I have witnessed how conflict, violence, and displacement can leave deep and lasting scars on families and communities,\u201d he said. \u201cWhether in Cameroon, Israel, Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine, or elsewhere, I believe that every human life has equal dignity and worth. My support reflects a commitment to human rights, peaceful coexistence, and the principle that our actions as a city should be consistent with our values.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Somerville Mayor Jake Wilson said, \u201cThe Council has proposed an ethical procurement ordinance, and they will be discussing that as part of their ongoing process. My administration is honoring our previous commitment to make staff available for their deliberations on what is legal and practicable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They can\u2019t say they weren\u2019t warned. Jewish groups are giving a heads-up to Somerville officials that they will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[7252,10725,2492,925,9921,37,4056],"class_list":["post-168538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-american-jews","tag-anti-zionism","tag-antisemitism","tag-boston","tag-diaspora-jews","tag-israel","tag-us-politics"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116779454703016449","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}