Trump admin threatens states that boycott Israel

President Donald Trump’s administration signaled that states and cities that boycott Israeli companies could be denied routine federal disaster preparedness funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). But just as the apparent policy came to light, it was seemingly reversed.

Two versions

News outlets took notice of the policy when it emerged in the “terms and conditions” section of disaster preparedness grant applications that were recently posted. One of those conditions stated that grantees would be prohibited from “limiting commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies.” That was the first version. Political podcaster Saagar Enjeti posted screengrabs of that as well as a later second version, revealing that the Israeli-firm language had been removed, suggesting a quiet reversal.

DHS walks it back

When news outlets sought clarification, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, denied any link between disaster aid and lack of support for Israel. “There is no FEMA requirement tied to Israel in any current [Notice of Funding Opportunity]. No states have lost funding, and no new conditions have been imposed,” the spokesperson told Newsweek and other outlets, adding that “FEMA grants remain governed by existing law and policy and not political litmus tests.”

Opposing views

While The American Jewish Committee — an advocacy group that supports Israel — expressed support for such a policy, groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, called it an attack on First Amendment rights. Some MAGA-style Republicans and Trump loyalists, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, have also pushed back. In May, the outspoken Georgia congresswoman wrote on social media that she would “defend Americans’ rights to buy or boycott whomever they choose without the government” punishing them for it.

Worries for areas threatened by natural disasters

There were fears that if the policy had remained, it could have denied access to a portion of disaster preparedness funds — which total at least $1.9 billion — that are intended to provide search-and-rescue gear, emergency manager salaries, backup power systems used during blackouts and more, Reuters reported.

Playing politics?

Amid all the worry and back and forth, the reality is that the policy would have been largely symbolic, The New York Times reported, because no states and only a few cities even have laws preventing their agencies from doing business with Israeli companies.

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