Munich first in Germany to pass anti-BDS law

BERLIN – Munich passed a historic bill on Wednesday to ban boycotts of Israel, becoming the first city in Germany to outlaw public funds and space for the BDS campaign.

The joint Christian Social Union and Social Democratic Party anti-BDS bill passed with a solid majority.

“Munich sent a signal against antisemitism” that should be heeded for all of Germany, said Charlotte Knobloch, the chairwoman of Munich’s Jewish community.

Knobloch, a Holocaust survivor, has waged a relentless campaign to stop the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, which has roiled Munich, the Bavarian capital, and other parts of Germany for years because of its activities in municipal-funded buildings and calls to abolish the Jewish state.

Frankfurt and Berlin have also enacted executive initiatives to stop BDS activity in city-funded facilities.

The university town of Heidelberg is slated to discuss a BDS ban in its facilities in 2018, according to article last week in Rhein-Neckar Zeitung.

After The Jerusalem Post revealed a BDS bank account, the Munich-based DAB bank shut down the account of the group BDS Campaign in 2016. The new anti-BDS law in Munich also recognizes the international definition of modern antisemitism.

Knobloch termed BDS an “antisemitic campaign.”

Knobloch thanked the city of Munich for showing “sensitivity toward the different forms of antisemitism and the clear determination to not allow ideological activists to have leeway.”