by Opinion Contributor
Sara A. Colb is the deputy director of ADL New England.
Last month, the Belfast City Council stepped well out of its local government lane to weigh in on matters of foreign policy, which it is ill equipped to do. The council voted, as reported by the Bangor Daily News, “to divest from companies that activists say have contributed to the disproportionate killing of tens of thousands of Gaza’s residents” and “prohibit future investments in such firms for as long as the occupation and attacks on Gaza continue.”
While the desire to see an end to this war is one most of us share, Belfast’s action to divest, and the Boycott Divestment, and Sanctions [“BDS”] movement that gave rise to it, do little to promote peace in the Middle East. They can, however, cause real harm here at home.