# BDS movement > **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou. > > Cite as: "BDS movement," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/bds-movement/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel; John Kiriakou notes that some 40 U.S. states now have anti-BDS laws that can require a speaker at a publicly funded university to sign a pledge of support for Israel — which he refuses to do.* - **Stands for:** Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions - **Anti-BDS laws (per Kiriakou):** ~40-42 U.S. states The **BDS movement** — Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions — is the campaign of economic pressure on Israel that [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) says he and many others support in principle. He notes that some 40 to 42 U.S. states have passed anti-BDS laws, so that a speaker invited to a publicly funded university may have to sign a document pledging support for Israel in order to be paid.[1][2] Kiriakou refuses: *"I will not pledge fealty to a foreign government."* He frames the laws — now under constitutional appeal — as part of a climate in which any criticism of Israel or [Netanyahu](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/benjamin-netanyahu) is branded antisemitic.[2][3] ## A friend's Georgia State speaking fee Kiriakou describes a concrete case of the anti-BDS contractor laws in practice: a friend was hired to give a paid speech at Georgia State University for $500, but the contract required her to pledge allegiance to Israel — under Georgia's anti-BDS law, taking state money as a speaker makes a person a contractor, and contractors must make that pledge. She refused, sued, and lost the case before the Georgia Supreme Court.[4] ## Florida and the UK (The Inquiry) [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) cites the spread of anti-Palestinian speech restrictions: in Florida it is, for now, illegal to express support for Palestinians on social media, and he says Miami police knocked on the door of a woman who did so on Facebook. He pairs it with the UK's [secrecy laws](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/uk-secrecy-laws), under which support for Palestinian rights can bring prosecution.[5][6] In a separate telling of the same Miami Beach Facebook case, Kiriakou identifies the law behind it: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pushed legislation through the state legislature this year making it a criminal offense to criticize Israel, which Kiriakou calls patently unconstitutional.[7] Rather than sign the bill at home, DeSantis waited to fly to Israel and sign it in the presence of Benjamin Netanyahu, then gave him the pen as a souvenir — prompting Kiriakou to ask whether DeSantis works for the people of Florida or for Netanyahu.[8] ## See also - [AIPAC](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/aipac) - [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/benjamin-netanyahu) ## Sources 1. CIA Enemy of the State, with CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou (2024-07-27), at 26:39. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSZLMPdMGFQ&t=1599s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-07-27-saltcube-cia-enemy-of-the-state/ 2. CIA Enemy of the State, with CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou (2024-07-27), at 27:13. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSZLMPdMGFQ&t=1633s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-07-27-saltcube-cia-enemy-of-the-state/ 3. CIA Enemy of the State, with CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou (2024-07-27), at 26:07. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSZLMPdMGFQ&t=1567s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-07-27-saltcube-cia-enemy-of-the-state/ 4. John Kiriakou Answers the Questions Everyone Wants to Ask (2026-07-06), at 09:22. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmH5nEr0MkI&t=562s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-06-the-jason-jones-show/ 5. CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou Exposes Torture, Assassinations, and the Epstein Files (2026-03-01), at 20:25. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cHt3dZqn6c&t=1225s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-01-the-inquiry-torture-assassinations-epstein/ 6. CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou Exposes Torture, Assassinations, and the Epstein Files (2026-03-01), at 20:57. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cHt3dZqn6c&t=1257s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-01-the-inquiry-torture-assassinations-epstein/ 7. John Kiriakou Answers the Questions Everyone Wants to Ask (2026-07-06), at 07:50. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmH5nEr0MkI&t=470s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-06-the-jason-jones-show/ 8. John Kiriakou Answers the Questions Everyone Wants to Ask (2026-07-06), at 08:52. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmH5nEr0MkI&t=532s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-06-the-jason-jones-show/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/bds-movement/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt