Alaska governor bans big new contracts with companies that boycott Israel

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a far-reaching administrative order on Monday that calls for public agencies to stop doing business with companies that support an economic boycott of Israel.

The order makes Alaska the 38th state to take executive acts or pass legislation against boycotts intended to support Palestinians. Many of those actions are years old, but the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, a conflict that has killed more than 25,000 people since October, has intensified attention on a two-decade-old campaign that urges companies to boycott Israel because of its actions against Palestinians.

Within the order, Dunleavy said that “the State of Alaska stands firmly with Israel” and that “it would be contrary to the public interest to contract with persons or business entities engaged in boycotts that seek to isolate or alienate Israel economically and socially for improper purposes.”