Dear Editor:
Governor Cuomo appears to have taken a leaf from the playbook of the Republican Presidential candidate: scrap the constitution and separation of powers and bully your point home. His order requiring the states to create a blacklist of supporters of the BDS campaign (BDS) against Israel is a step back to a McCarthyite past. Since when does the state create a politically motivated blacklist? Boycotts are an ancient American tradition, from the Boston Tea Party to our own governor Cuomo ordering New York State to boycott North Carolina for its policies on public bathrooms. Why are Palestinian human rights singled out to be repressed? The governor is trying to silence the growing support for efforts to hold the Israeli government accountable for its continued violations of the human rights of Palestinians. And he is acting now because the legislature, which considered a similar bill, did not bring it to a vote because so many legislators believed it unconstitutional. Governor Cuomo should stop trying to bully human rights supporters. He should rescind his order.
Felice Gelman
Tarrytown, NY