Cuomo bars N.Y. from doing business with Israel boycotters

“We are against the [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement,” Cuomo said at an event early Sunday morning. “If you boycott against Israel, New York will boycott you.”

Cuomo’s executive order came the same day New York City hosted its Celebrate Israel Parade, an annual tradition dating back to 1964.

While announcing the executive order, the Democratic governor, who’s endorsed Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, weighed in on members of his own party who’ve questioned the United States’ relationship with its Mideast ally, including Sanders.

“I’m sad as a Democrat. As a Democrat, I always took for granted that there was a natural relationship with Israel that was unquestioned and was that way for many, many years,” he told New Yorkers.

He continued, “You now have aspects of the Democratic Party that are being critical of Israel as being disproportionate in its response” to recent terror attacks.

Sanders struck a different tone in an April debate against Clinton, claiming “Israel has a right to defend itself,” but that the U.S. must play a role in “trying to bring people together and recognizing the serious problems that exist among the Palestinian people.”

“To question the situation they’re dealing with and the tenacity of their opponents misunderstands the situation,” Cuomo countered on Sunday. “How can you have a disproportionate response when you are dealing with an enemy who is obsessed and single-minded? By definition you can’t be disproportionate.”

As part of a concession deal with the Democratic National Committee, Sanders recently appointed several individuals to the party’s 15-person platform committee. Two of the people he chose — professor Cornel West and Arab American Institute President James Zogby – have long supported the BDS movement.

According to the New York Times, both men have “vowed to upend what they see as the [Democratic] party’s lopsided support of Israel.”