MARVIN SZNELER TO LEAVE JCRB|AJC — This month Marvin Szneler will celebrate 20 years as executive director and Bert Berkley chair for community relations for the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee. As he marked the anniversary, Szneler also informed the JCRB|AJC board of directors he intends to leave the position on September 7. He is moving on to another opportunity, which will be announced as September draws closer.
Szneler believes whoever is hired to succeed him will find the agency is in very good condition and “poised for continued success in every area.” JCRB|AJC programming has been scheduled through April 2019.
ANTI-BDS LEGISLATION STALLS IN MISSOURI SENATE — Our colleagues at the St. Louis Jewish Light reported last week the bill to combat the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel in the state of Missouri does not look like it will move forward. That’s because a Republican lawmaker plans to filibuster the bill, which would require companies that receive state contracts to certify they will not engage in a boycott of Israel.
According to the Jewish Light, opponents of the legislation, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have said it violates free speech rights. In January, a judge in Kansas ruled in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of an educator that the state cannot enforce a similar law because it violates the plaintiff’s First Amendment rights. The organization has also filed a lawsuit against an anti-boycott law in Arizona.
The bill’s co-sponsor, State Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, and other proponents believe the bill is necessary to fight efforts to destroy Israel and strengthen economic ties between Missouri and Israel. Twenty-four states have approved similar legislation. Last month Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer signed a revised anti-BDS bill that will become law July 1. State legislators hope the revised bill will help clarify the original intent of the law in a way that would prevent court challenges.
Schupp, who is Jewish, said Missouri is “trying to become one more state that says we will not support economic policies that undermine our Democratic friend and ally, Israel.”
The Missouri House approved the legislation by a 111-35 vote, with a majority of Democrats voting against the legislation.