Bal Harbour Village Is The First Municipality to Pass Anti-BDS Ordinance

Collins Ave. in Bal Harbour, Miami Beach, Florida. (Wikipedia/Alexf)

After two public readings, the Village Council of Bal Harbour unanimously passed an ordinance prohibiting the Village from contracting with any business unless the contract includes a representation that the business is not currently engaged in, and will not engage in, the boycott of a person or an entity based in or doing business with a country or jurisdiction with which the United States has free trade or other agreements.

This Anti-BDS Ordinance is aimed at ensuring open and nondiscriminatory trade with partners, such as the State of Israel. Under this ground-breaking ordinance, any business which contracts with the Village, must first represent that it is “not currently engaged in..., and will not engage in the [b]oycott of a person or an entity based in or doing business with an 'Open Trade Jurisdiction.'” (An Open Trade Jurisdiction is defined in the ordinance as World Trade Organization members and those countries with which the United States has free trade or other agreements aimed at ensuring open and nondiscriminatory trade regulations.) The ordinance is similar to SB 86, a bill sponsored by Florida State Senator Joe Negron, which recently passed unanimously through a Florida Senate budget panel.

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