The Federal Emergency Management Agency is cautioning states and cities seeking federal aid for natural disaster preparedness that boycotting Israeli companies will result in a tightening of the federal purse strings.
In grant notices posted Friday, FEMA said states must abide by its “terms and conditions” to qualify for federal assistance, which include a provision that they must not terminate “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies.”
Reuters reported that the requirement applies to at least $1.9 billion that states use to fund emergency manager salaries, as well as search-and-rescue equipment and backup power systems.
In April, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, said states and cities seeking federal grants would be ineligible for federal funds if they engaged in boycotting Israel.
The Israeli commerce requirement addresses the BDS — or boycott, divestment, and sanctions — movement, designed to apply economic pressure to force the Jewish state to recognize Palestinian independence.
“DHS will enforce all antidiscrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism,” a spokesperson for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
According to a University of Pennsylvania law journal, at least 34 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies in place.
Holly Huffnagle, the American Jewish Committee’s director of antisemitism policy, told Reuters the advocacy group supports the government’s policy of maintaining Israeli business ties.
In addition to states, FEMA will require major cities to agree to the administration’s Israel policy to receive a portion of $553.5 million allocated for terrorism prevention in dense areas, according to a grant notice. New York City is set to receive $92.2 million from the funding, with allocations reportedly based on FEMA’s “relative risk of terrorism” analysis.
Meanwhile, states will be required to spend a portion of their federal terrorism prevention dollars on helping the Trump administration arrest migrants, FEMA said separately in July.
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