Three state lawmakers were recognized Wednesday for their support of Israel and the Jewish community in Colorado.

Assistant House Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, Rep. Dan Nordberg, R-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo, were presented with the Jewish Community Relations Council’s Legislative Appreciation Award.

The trio was recognized by the group for their work in establishing the Israeli Caucus at the Legislature and for this year sponsoring House Bill 1284, which directed the state’s pension fund to divest from foreign companies participating in the growing boycott, divest, sanction (BDS) movement aimed at pressuring Israel to alter its position on the issue of Palestinian and Arab rights in Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“I’m so humbled to be recognized. It’s amazing that Colorado is one of the first five states to adopt this legislation and I think we can expect more states to follow,” Moreno said after the ceremony. “(Colorado) has a unique relationship with the Jewish community. We have an incredible Jewish organization here, the JCRC, that does great work, and Colorado and Israel have so much in common — from defense to agriculture to our unique arid environmental conditions. There is so much we can learn from each other.

“This topic transcends party affiliation,” Moreno said. “We want to support and defend the greatest democratic government in that region.”

Nordberg echoed those sentiments. He and Moreno whipped wide support for the bill at the Legislature.

“(This event) is the culmination of a lot of hard work, and it’s a tremendous honor to have worked in partnership with the JCRC,” Nordberg said. “Our relationship with Israel goes back so long and we have such strong ties whether it be economically or from a leadership perspective. Israel and Colorado have a special relationship.”

Garcia was traveling out of state and couldn’t attend the event.

Gov. John Hickenlooper spoke at the event about the importance of the effort the state has made to strengthen its connections with Israel, including recent work on a national cybersecurity center in Colorado Springs.

“(Both Israel and Colorado) are hotbeds for entrepreneurs and startups,” he said. “We have created a culture of innovation and self reliance, but at the same time, within that self reliance, is an intense culture of collaboration.”

State Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, said he hoped other states would follow Colorado’s lead and pass legislation similarly pushing back against the BDS movement.

“Hopefully we can be a trendsetter,” he said.

–Ramsey@coloradostatesman.com