US Press
The US House votes to defund universities that boycott Israel
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The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would put federal funding at risk for universities that take part in certain boycotts of Israel, by 237 votes to 169, Responsible Statecraft reported. The measure now goes to the Senate, where no vote has been scheduled.
The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, HR 4795, was sponsored by Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican, and Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat. It targets what it calls "nonexpressive commercial boycotts" of Israel, including ending a business relationship without what the bill deems a valid business reason, and requires universities to certify each year that they give academic programmes in Israel the same access as programmes anywhere else.
How the vote split#
Blaise Malley, writing for the Quincy Institute's Responsible Statecraft, reported that 235 Republicans voted for the bill and two against, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio. Thirty-three Democrats crossed over to support it; the party's leadership opposed the measure on free-speech grounds.
Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, argued that "boycotts of Israel are anti-Semitic in design and discriminatory in their effect" and are used to "isolate Jewish students."
Bobby Scott of Virginia, the senior Democrat on the education committee, answered that "there has not been a single case of an American college or university administration adopting the BDS movement policies. Not one." Jerry Nadler of New York said that however he disagreed with BDS, "I will always fight to protect Americans' right to speech with which I disagree."
What critics say it does#
Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, told the outlet the bill would mean universities "not only cannot refuse cooperation with Israel but must actively seek every opportunity" for it. Dylan Williams of the Center for International Policy and the policy group A New Policy also criticised the measure, Malley reported.
The Quincy Institute, which publishes Responsible Statecraft, argues for military restraint in US foreign policy and is a consistent critic of unconditional support for Israel.
The vote came the same week federal courts were still handling challenges to the administration's visa actions against pro-Palestinian students, which this paper reported on 29 August. The bill's Senate sponsors had not been named by Thursday night.
