Providence, Rhode Island, votes overwhelmingly to back pro-BDS measure facilitating divestment from Israel.By World Israel News StaffVoters in Providence overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative Tuesday aimed at divesting municipal funds from Israel and companies connected to its activities, making the Rhode Island capital the largest US city to endorse an Israel divestment measure at the ballot box.Question 7 received 75% support, compared to 25% opposed, with all 82 polling locations reporting.The measure requires the city to divest municipal funds “from foreign countries conducting severe violations of human rights such as ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal military occupation, or genocide.”Although Israel is not explicitly named in the ballot language, organizers acknowledged that the initiative was directed at the Jewish state, particularly over its military operations in the Gaza Strip.The proposal was spearheaded by Providence for Palestine, a coalition of anti-Israel organizations that collected more than 6,000 verified signatures to place the question on the ballot after the City Council declined to adopt the proposed ordinance.Beyond investments in foreign governments, the ordinance also targets companies deemed complicit in the specified human rights violations. Its potential application to corporations doing business with Israel has raised concerns about the financial implications for the city’s municipal pension fund.Supporters celebrated the result as a significant achievement for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.“It’s an enormous demonstration of what we already knew going into the campaign,” said Zack Kligler, an organizer with Providence for Palestine, during an election-night gathering.Rabbi Lex Rofeberg, who supported the campaign, expressed confidence that the ordinance would be implemented.“This is binding,” Rofeberg told the Rhode Island Current, pointing to support from the city’s incoming mayor and members of the City Council.Mayor-elect David Morales, a democratic socialist who defeated incumbent Mayor Brett Smiley in September’s Democratic primary, supports the divestment initiative and has pledged to implement it.Smiley, who opposed the measure, warned during the campaign that its broad provisions could interfere with the management of the city’s investments and expose Providence to expensive litigation.The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island also opposed the proposal, describing it as “harmful, divisive, and antisemitic in its impact.”The organization previously indicated that it would consider legal action if the measure passed.Questions about the initiative’s legality intensified after the city commissioned retired federal judge William Smith to examine the proposed ordinance.In a 17-page legal analysis dated October 23, Smith concluded that the measure was likely unenforceable and could conflict with the city’s charter and the fiduciary responsibilities of officials overseeing municipal pension investments.He described the ordinance as “highly problematic, likely unenforceable” and warned that adopting it could trigger costly legal disputes.In 2025, voters in Somerville, Massachusetts, approved a nonbinding measure supporting divestment from Israel, while Cambridge, Massachusetts, recently moved to restrict pension investments involving companies linked to Israeli military activities in Gaza.Unlike Somerville’s advisory vote, the Providence initiative is intended to create a binding municipal ordinance, although its practical implementation remains uncertain and could depend on the outcome of legal challenges.The post Anti-Israel boycott movement scores major win in Rhode Island appeared first on World Israel News.