SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) – A branch of an Australian political party has abandoned its policy of endorsing a boycott of Israel.
The New South Wales branch of the Greens party ditched its support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel on Sunday, moving in step with the federal Greens Party, which never adopted the BDS. But the party branch still voted to support the BDS as a legitimate political tactic.
One of the party’s proponents of the boycott, Sen. Lee Rhiannon, denied it was a defeat.
“The resolution recognizes the legitimacy of the BDS as a political tactic,” she said.
Yair Miller, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, told The Australian daily newspaper, "We welcome this small but significant step … but reiterate that they are still wrong to argue that BDS is a legitimate tactic."
The federal Greens Party is a junior partner in the Labor government.
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