Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio blasted those of the so-called "progressive" sector - of which he counts himself a member - who support the movement to boycott Israel (BDS).
“There are plenty of people who support BDS who have advanced degrees and who call themselves progressives. I look forward to challenging them because it’s ahistorical,” he said to a group of congregants at a New York synagogue.
On the contrary, de Blasio asserted, support for Israel “is a matter of being consistent with progressive values [and expresses] an understanding that we must always learn the painful lessons of history and do something about it.”
The General Consul for Israel in New York, Dani Dayan, blessed the Mayor's statements, adding: "Those who boycott Israel are reactionaries pretending to be progressives, and it's important that a leader of de Blaio's stature is exposing their true face."