The Trump administration said states and cities will not receive funding to prepare for natural disasters if they choose to boycott Israeli companies, according to an agency statement.
States must certify that they will not cut off “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to receive the money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the agency’s terms, opens new tab for grantees.
The condition applies to at least $1.9 billion 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.
FEMA said in July that U.S. 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, Sanctions (BDS) movement, a campaign designed to put economic pressure on Israel to leave the West Bank.
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“DHS will enforce all anti-discrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism,” a spokesperson for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement.
The requirement is largely symbolic. At least 34 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies.
FEMA will require major cities to agree to the Israel policy to receive a cut of $553.5 million set aside to prevent terrorism in dense areas, according to a grant notice posted Friday.
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Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem visits the Western Wall
(Photo: Alex Brandon / POOL / AFP)
New York City is slated to receive $92.2 million from the program, the most of all the recipients. Allocations are based on the agency’s analysis of “relative risk of terrorism,” according to the notice.
Trump has already used the threat of denying federal funds to promote his conservative policies and, among other things, forced U.S. universities, including Columbia , to agree to a series of reforms related to the fight against antisemitism and anti-Israel activists who held violent demonstrations there throughout the war in Gaza. Harvard University, which refused to submit to the administration's dictates , lost billions in federal aid funds - and launched a legal battle.