| Success in Colorado! Pro-BDS bill defeated in Committee! |
| הצלחה בקולורדו! אויבי ישראל מובסים! |
Dear friends,
- On Monday, Feb. 26th, the Colorado House Finance Committee sat for over 7 hours hearing testimony both for and against HB 1169 – a bill that sought to repeal Colorado’s 2016 Anti-BDS law.
- The committee then voted 10-1 to protect Colorado’s anti-BDS law.
A big Thank You to Everyone who Spoke Up:
Thank you to all of you who called your legislators, visited them or sent messages in advance of the hearing, and to all of you who showed up at the hearing. The committee voted against this bad bill because we all came together. Over 1,000 individuals sent emails and over 60 individuals from our community spoke at the hearing. A few representatives said that our community’s messaging helped them understand the BDS movement’s contribution to the rise of antisemitism and the threat that this bill posed to our community. So thank you for using your voice.
In addition to all the individuals, both Jewish and non-Jewish, we would like to thank all the organizations that activated in response to this issue: Stop Antisemitism Colorado, Federation, JCRC, ADL, and the various synagogues. Thank you for making your voices heard and for working together so seamlessly.
Why is Colorado’s anti-BDS law important?
It protects Colorado’s Jewish citizens and business owners from being targeted by the discriminatory anti-Israel boycott movement known as ‘BDS.’ It also protects Israeli companies and Israel’s trade partners. It works by prohibiting Colorado’s pension funds from investing in companies participating in anti-Israel and antisemitic discriminatory boycotts.
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Here is the roll call of the votes:
We want to thank the following, who voted ‘No’ :
- Representative Marc Snyder – marc.snyder.house@coleg.gov
- Representative Junie Joseph – representative.joseph@gmail.com
- Representative Bob Marshall – bob.marshall.house@coleg.gov
- Representative William Lindstedt – william.lindstedt.house@gmail.com
- Representative Chris deGruy Kennedy – chris.kennedy.house@gmail.com
- Representative Cathy Kipp – cathykipp52@gmail.com
- Representative Lisa Frizell – lisa.frizell.hd45@gmail.com
- Representative Anthony Hartsook – repanthonyhartsook@gmail.com
- Representative Ron Weinberg – Ron@repweinberg.com
- Representative Matt Soper – matthew.soper.house@coleg.gov
Voted ‘Yes’ (supported the effort to repeal Colorado’s anti-BDS law)
- Representative Lorena Garcia – lorena.garcia@coleg.gov
2-minute excerpt of both sides of the 7-hour hearing
