Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - 1/31/2025… Today, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) and Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) reintroduced the bipartisan IGO Anti-Boycott Act which stops international governmental organizations from discriminating against Israel.

The IGO Anti-Boycott Act amends the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to include international governmental organizations (IGOs) in existing anti-boycott laws. This change targets harmful and inherently antisemitic BDS efforts at IGOs, such as the UN, by extending protections already in place for boycotts instigated by foreign countries. Last Congress, this bill passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee 42-3 and later passed on the House floor by voice vote.

“I’m proud to reintroduce the IGO Anti-Boycott Act, a bipartisan effort to protect U.S. citizens, businesses, and our allies, particularly Israel, from discriminatory boycotts,” said Congressman Lawler (NY-17). “This bill closes a critical loophole by ensuring that international organizations cannot enable harmful BDS efforts.”

“This legislation is essential to safeguarding Israel’s security and economy from unjust attacks,” Congressman Lawler (NY-17) concluded. “I’m committed to standing with our allies and ensuring Israel’s strength and position in the global community remains unwavering.”

“International organizations can’t get away with targeting our key democratic ally, Israel. That’s why we are introducing the bipartisan IGO Anti-Boycott Act to counter the blatant anti-Israel bias in international organizations like the United Nations, which has a long history of targeting the Jewish state,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “Democrats and Republicans must continue working together to combat efforts to isolate, delegitimize, and demonize our key ally, Israel.”

“This important bipartisan common-sense legislation plainly states that international governmental organization’s (IGO) trafficking in anti-Israel boycotts, will be subject to American anti-boycott laws. There should be no daylight between how we treat foreign nations or international bodies when it comes to defending our closest ally against economic warfare,” stated CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra Hagee Parker. 

“AIPAC strongly supports the IGO Anti-Boycott Act which makes clear the U.S. will not countenance U.N. instigated boycotts of our ally Israel,” said AIPAC. 

“Following Hamas’s brutal attack against the State of Israel on October 7, 2023, attempts have been made by some to double down on vile boycotts against the Jewish State. While these efforts are not new, they reflect the strong anti-Israel biases and antisemitic attitudes that have become too pervasive around the globe, including within many international governmental organizations (IGOs). The IGO Anti-Boycott Act amends existing law to increase pressure and impose costs on IGOs that engage in this activity, which runs counter to U.S. national security interests. FDD Action supports this bipartisan legislation and broader congressional efforts to push back against the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement wherever it may occur,” said FDD Action.

"The Republican Jewish Coalition strongly supports The IGO Anti-Boycott Act, Congressman Lawler’s common-sense bill to prevent international organizations like the UN and the EU from coercing American companies to support BDS,” stated Senator Norm Coleman, National Chairman of the RJC and Matt Brooks, CEO of the RJC. “Last year, the GOP-controlled House passed this bill with broad bipartisan support, but the boycott threat remains because Senate Democrats blocked the legislation. Now that voters have given Republicans control of the Senate, we are optimistic that this important bill can be enacted during the 119th Congress.”

Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties.