The city council of Burlington, Vermont is expected to vote tonight (Monday) on a resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, Jewish Insider reported.
The draft resolution directly supports the BDS campaign and "calls on President Joe Biden to end all military aid to Israel, and calls on the Vermont Legislature and Governor Phil Scott to similarly demand an end to military aid to Israel."
The resolution criticizes Israel over the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, the partial economic blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, and the May 2021 military conflict with Gaza without mentioning Hamas, rocket attacks, or terrorism against Israelis.
If the resolution is passed, Burlington would become the first city in the US to officially endorse the BDS movement.
The Jewish Communities of Vermont (JCVT) have launched an outreach campaign to urge the 12-member city council to vote down the resolution.
Yoram Samets, a member of the JCVT anti-Semitism task group, told the Jewish Insider that the Jewish community was worried that the resolution's success could spread to other municipalities in Vermont and make life difficult the state's Jewish residents.
The vote has been criticized for taking place between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur, the Jewish High Holidays.
On Thursday, the rabbis of all four of Burlington's synagogues wrote a letter condemning the resolution, calling it “one-sided” and stating that the BDS movement seeks “the elimination of the state of Israel.”