WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews) — The House on Thursday passed bipartisan legislation that would strip federal student aid from colleges and universities that engage in commercial boycotts of Israel, even as most Democrats voted against the measure.
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The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act passed 237-169. Nearly all Republicans supported the bill, joined by 33 Democrats. Two Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio — voted no, along with 167 Democrats.
The legislation, led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., would require institutions that participate in federal student aid programs to certify they are not engaging in a “nonexpressive commercial boycott” of Israel. Schools that refuse to certify would lose access to that funding. The Education Department would also be required to publish a list of institutions that do not certify.
The bill defines such a boycott as a commercial action — including refusals to deal with Israel or ending business activity — intended to limit relations with Israel or Israeli entities and not based on a valid business reason. Recipients of Title VI international education funding would also have to certify that they are not blocking academic exchange with Israeli institutions.
Gottheimer said the measure is narrowly drawn and does not restrict speech, protest or academic debate.
“No student, no professor should be shut out of research, study abroad opportunities, or academic partnerships, or feel unwelcome in the classroom because of where they’re from or what religion they practice,” Gottheimer said. “Yet that’s exactly what the boycott-divest-sanction movement seeks to do — targeting one country and one religion: Israel and Judaism.”
Foxx, who chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee, said campuses have allowed antisemitism to fester.
“The antisemitic rot that has corroded college campuses must be eradicated — enough is enough,” Foxx said. “If an institution of higher education chooses to capitulate to the caustic BDS movement, there will be consequences.”
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, commonly known as BDS, seeks to isolate Israel economically, academically and culturally. Supporters of the bill say BDS campaigns on campus have targeted Jewish students and faculty and cut off partnerships with Israeli universities.
Democratic leaders including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California voted against the bill, as did Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Critics have argued that anti-BDS measures can raise First Amendment concerns and that few, if any, universities have formally adopted institutional boycotts of Israel. During committee consideration earlier this year, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the ranking member on the Education and Workforce Committee, called the bill “a solution in search of a problem,” while saying he opposed BDS.
Sponsors countered that the legislation targets only institutional commercial and academic boycotts, not individual speech or student protest.
The bill now heads to the Senate.
Shame on Jeffries. Shame on Pelosi whose father wholeheartedly supported Jewish causes. Woe onto us if the Democrats win the midterms and Jeffries becomes the next Speaker of the House.
The idea of a boycott targeting a single nation and religion, as described in this bill, touches on a principle older than any modern political movement. Justice means treating each person, and each nation, according to its own merits and actions, not as part of a collective to be punished. Singling out Israel and Judaism for commercial or academic isolation goes against this. It creates an environment where students and faculty might feel unwelcome based on their heritage, which undermines the very purpose of open academic exchange. Our Pantry Packers program, for example, has always welcomed everyone to participate in tzedakah. We believe in the strength of inclusion, not exclusion.
Most democrats are anti Israel Hamas Nazi supporters.