The Trump administration said that states and cities boycotting Israeli companies will be cut off from federal disaster preparedness funding under new grant conditions published Aug. 1.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) now requires that applicants for disaster aid programs certify they will not sever “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies,” according to grant documents viewed by Reuters.
The condition applies to at least $1.9 billion in federal funds designated for emergency equipment, disaster response salaries, and backup power systems, Reuters reported.
The policy reportedly aims to counter the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says is rooted in antisemitism.
“DHS will enforce all antidiscrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism,” a spokesperson for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Reuters.
On its website, the BDS movement describes itself as a “Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality.” It promotes boycotts and divestment initiatives to pressure Israel to end “the military occupation in the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan Heights.” The movement also seeks to compel Israel to guarantee “full equality” of Palestinians and “promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.”
Between 2014 and 2023, at least 34 states passed laws opposing the BDS movement, according to a University of Pennsylvania law journal study cited by Axios.
According to one of the grant notices published last week, FEMA will also require large cities to comply with the Israel-related policy to receive a share of the $553.5 million allocated for terrorism prevention in densely populated areas.
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Author: Elise Winland
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