Hundreds of protesters gathered outside New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's
office in New York City, Thursday, after Cuomo signed an executive
order requiring state agencies and authorities to divest from any
company or institution that supports the BDS boycott against Israel for
its continued occupation of Palestinian land and human rights abuses.

The
protest was organised by Jewish Voices for Peace, Jews Say No and
Adalah-NY: The New York campaign for the boycott of Israel. Protesters
slammed Cuomo for "McCarthyism" and called on the New York Governor to
rescind the executive order, which protesters say attacks freedom of
speech and freedom of expression, guaranteed by the First Amendment of
the US Constitution.

The Palestinian-led BDS movement, founded in
2005, was modeled on the global campaign to bring an end to Apartheid
in South Africa. The BDS movement aims to put international pressure on
Israel to respect the human rights of Palestinians, those under Israeli
military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, those living as unequal
citizens inside Israeli territory and the 12 million refugees denied the
right of return to their homeland