New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang has vowed to fight the antisemitic boycott movement if he becomes the city’s next mayor. In a column penned for the left-leaning Jewish magazine Forward, Yang likened the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to Nazi boycotts of Jewish businesses. 

“Not only is BDS rooted in antisemitic thought and history, hearkening back to fascist boycotts of Jewish businesses, it’s also a direct shot at New York City’s economy. Yang wrote. “Strong ties with Israel are essential for a global city such as ours, which boasts the highest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel,” he added.


By coming out against the anti-Israel boycott movement, which Yang rightly characterizes as antisemitic, he is at odds with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Some upcoming leaders of the party, including Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, support the BDS campaign and have argued in favor of a boycott of Israel.

The former Democratic presidential candidate recently announced his bid to run for mayor of New York City. Yang dropped out of the primaries in February 2020 after a poor showing and endorsed Joe Biden the following month.

Addressing New York’s Jewish voters in his Forward op-od, Yang wrote:



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