Washington — US states and cities that boycott Israeli companies will be denied federal aid for natural disaster preparedness, the Trump administration has announced, tying routine federal funding to its political stance.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) stated in grant notices posted on Friday that states must follow its “terms and conditions”. Those conditions require they certify they will not sever “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to qualify for funding.
The requirement applies to at least $1.9bn that states rely on to cover search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and backup power systems among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters.
The requirement is the Trump administration’s latest effort to use federal funding to promote its views on Israel.
The homeland security department, the agency that oversees Fema, said in April boycotting Israel is prohibited for states and cities receiving its grant funds.
Fema separately said in July that US states will be required to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the government arrest migrants, an administration priority.
The Israel requirement takes aim at the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement designed to put economic pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories. The campaign’s supporters grew more vocal in 2023, after Hamas attacked southern Israel and Israel invaded Gaza in response.
“DHS [homeland security] will enforce all antidiscrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in anti-Semitism,” a spokesperson for homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
The requirement is largely symbolic. At least 34 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies, according to a University of Pennsylvania law journal. The BDS Movement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) supports the Trump administration's policy, said Holly Huffnagle, the group’s director of anti-Semitism policy. The AJC is an advocacy group that supports Israel.
Under one of the grant notices posted on Friday, Fema will require major cities to agree to the Israel policy to receive a cut of $553.5m set aside to prevent terrorism in dense areas.
New York is due to receive $92.2m from the programme, the most of all the recipients. Allocations are based on the agency’s analysis of “relative risk of terrorism”, according to the notice.
Reuters
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