Pompeo in Israel: U.S. To Defund Organizations Involved in ‘Anti-Semitic’ ‘Cancer’ Bds Campaigns | Eastern NC Now

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Ryan Saavedra.

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Jerusalem on Thursday that the United States will officially recognize the anti-Israel BDS campaign as anti-Semitic and will move to immediately defund any organization that supports it.

    "Today, I want to make one announcement with respect to a decision by the State Department that we will regard the global anti-Israel BDS campaign as anti-Semitic," Pompeo said while speaking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I know this sounds simple to you, Mr. Prime Minister, it seems. It seems like a statement of fact but I want you to know that we will immediately take steps to identify organizations that engage in hateful BDS conduct and withdraw U.S. government support for such groups."

    "We want to stand with all other nations that recognize that the BDS movement for the cancer that it is and we're committed to combatting it," Pompeo continued. "Our record speaks for itself. During the Trump administration, America stands with Israel like never before. Indeed, the commitment we've made, the iron clad commitment we've made to the Jewish state will continue, I'm confident of that after our conversation this morning."

    NGO Monitor responded to the announcement by saying in a statement:

• The equating of BDS with antisemitism echoes the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which defines attempts to deny "the Jewish people their right to self-determination" and apply "double standards" as antisemitic.
• Combating antisemitism and ending the exploitation of universal human rights are both issues of great importance, and the need to address these objectives should transcend political divisions. In this context, NGO Monitor has called for governments, as well as NGOs, to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.

    Pompeo made the visit to Israel to discuss the Trump administration's historic Abraham Accords and national security issues concerning the Islamic Republic of Iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.

    The State Department highlighted the United States' relationship with Israel in a statement on Wednesday.