Bipartisan Consensus Against the Boycott Campaign
The House voted to place lawmakers on record opposing the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
The resolution, authored by Democratic Representative Brad Schneider of Illinois, directly rejected BDS on the grounds that the movement undermines the prospects for lasting peace. According to reporting from The Hill , the measure emphasized that BDS demands concessions from Israel alone while encouraging Arab Settler leaders to bypass direct bilateral negotiations in favor of international pressure.
The Legislative Margin and Minority Dissent
As reported by The Hill and Jewish Insider , the House approved the measure in a lopsided 398-to-17 vote, with five members choosing to vote present.
Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan had introduced a competing resolution affirming boycott participation as protected speech, drawing comparisons to historical boycotts. Representative Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, stated that although he personally did not support BDS, he voted against the resolution because he felt it placed excessive boundaries on political discourse and should have been paired with a separate measure supporting a two-state outcome.
Constitutional Protections and the Two-State Solution
Representative Ted Deutch of Florida clarified that the resolution imposed no speech restrictions or statutory penalties, but simply articulated congressional opposition to a campaign aimed at delegitimizing Israel's right to exist. Similarly, Representative Lucy McBath of Georgia noted that she co-sponsored the resolution because boycotts and divestment measures fail to serve as effective pathways toward peace.
Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts voted in favor of the anti-BDS resolution, while civil rights icon Representative John Lewis of Georgia co-sponsored and voted for the measure opposing BDS despite also co-sponsoring Omar's resolution affirming boycott rights.