Yuh-Line Niou endorses boycott of Israel in crowded NY Congress race
Manhattan-Brooklyn congressional candidate Yuh-Line Niou has endorsed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel in her platform — provoking condemnation from a leading opponent and the head of the state Democratic Party.
Niou, a state assemblywoman who represents Chinatown and the Lower East Side, is running for an open seat in the 10th Congressional District that takes in brownstone Brooklyn, parts of heavily orthodox-Jewish Borough Park and downtown Manhattan.
“I believe in the right to protest as a fundamental tenet of western democracy, so I do support BDS,” Niou said in an email to the Jewish Insider.
Niou has gained some traction after winning the endorsement of the left-leaning Working Families Party while the socialist left supports the BDS movement against the Jewish State.
But a leading opponent in the congressional race, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, slammed Niou for turning against Israel.
“The BDS movement does not recognize the right or need for Jewish statehood. That is unacceptable,” de Blasio said in a tweet.
“I have always opposed BDS and will build a strong coalition within the Democratic Party to stop BDS from undermining Israel’s economic & physical security.”
State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs called Niou’s backing of BDS “offensive and I condemn it.”
“She should pull out her history book. Her position shows a lack of understanding of the region,” he said.
By supporting BDS, Democratic Party sources said Niou may be trying to solidify support from the hard left in a race with more than ten candidates to give her a shot at pulling off a victory.
But very few New York politicians and members of Congress nationwide support BDS.
The House of Representatives in 2019 overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel.
Socialist firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was one of thee to vote against the resolution.
The tenth congressional district is a progressive district. But it also has a considerable number of Jewish voters — many of whom are Zionists who consider Israel the ancestral home of the Jewish people.
Other candidates in the race, besides Niou and de Blasio include: Rep. Mondaire Jones; Manhattan Councilwoman Carlina Rivera; Dan Goldman, the House Democrats’ chief lawyer for the first impeachment case against former President Donald Trump; Brooklyn Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon; former Congresswoman and Brooklyn DA Elizabeth Holtzman; parent activist Maud Maron; and anti-communist activist and retired military veteran Yan Xiong.