An anti-Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Bill has been passed in parliament that aims to stop local councils from being allowed to carry out boycotts and divestments against Israel.
The House of Commons has passed the Second Reading of the anti-BDS Bill, meaning it will now move to ‘Committee stage’, which is a line-by-line consideration of the details of the bill.
Simply put, the Bill is now well on its way to being passed into law. There are a few more steps until that happens, and we encourage you to pray for this situation, but the largest hurdle has been crossed.
We would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who wrote to their MP encouraging them to support the Bill.
The results of the vote for the ‘Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill’ were 268 votes in favour and 70 votes against.
Labour chose to abstain from the vote after an amendment they proposed was rejected. This was a shame as it would have been encouraging to see cross-party support for this Bill.
Instead, we saw the Conservatives largely support the Bill along with the DUP and the Reclaim Party, while the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and a few others voted against it. Two Tory MPs voted against the government, while 10 Labour MPs defied the abstention order and voted against it also. Jeremy Corbyn was amongst the Independents who voted against the Bill.
You can see the breakdown of the votes here.
It is encouraging to have small victories like this in our parliament. At Christians United for Israel UK, we want to see Britain’s relationship with Israel grow in strength. This type of action ensures that no local council can make a rogue decision against the will of the government, or the British public, to harm Israel.
We believe our campaigning is having a positive impact and we could not do this without you. If you would like to support CUFI UK in raising the Christian banner of support for Israel in the UK, please consider donating here.
This year, we want to do more to bless Israel and the Jewish people.
We know that as we bless Israel this year, God will bless us, just as He promised in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Now is the time to bless Israel and the Jewish people.
