LOS ANGELES : City Enacts Penalty for Firms Boycotting Israel
Foreign companies seeking Los Angeles city contracts will be required to certify under penalty of perjury that they do not participate in the Arab boycott of Israel, under a program approved by the City Council Tuesday.
The council last year voted to deny business to foreign firms that boycott Israel but did not set up a procedure to implement the policy until Tuesday.
Federal law already prohibits U.S. companies from participating in the boycott, but foreign firms are free to do so. The city law, written by former Councilman Michael Woo and shepherded through the council by Councilman Joel Wachs, prohibits the city from dealing with foreign firms honoring the boycott unless the products and services cannot be acquired elsewhere.
The law is expected to have no immediate effect because the 66 foreign companies under city contract do not participate in the 4-decade-old boycott.
Los Angeles also has a law prohibiting city purchases from firms doing business in South Africa.
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