Last week, without parliamentary debate or vote, the United Kingdom announced a controversial new law that looks to ban publicly-funded institutions from boycotting Israeli goods and services on political grounds — including student unions at publicly-funded universities, local councils and the National Health Service. In a statement released on Feb. 17, the Cabinet Office of the U.K.’s Conservative government stated: “Town hall boycotts undermine good community relations, poisoning and polarizing debate, weakening integration and fueling anti-Semitism.” “Locally imposed boycotts can roll back integration as well as hinder Britain’s export trade and harm international relationships,” it added.