US House Passes Bill Blocking Federal Aid for Universities Boycotting Israel

The bill's sponsors said it was not intended to hinder academic speech or debate, but to prevent the targeting of Israel and ⁠Judaism (Photo: Reuters).

The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that blocks federal aid for universities boycotting Israel, but it needs to pass the Senate to become a law. The lower house, dominated by the republican majority, voted 237-169 in favour of the "Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act", amid growing criticism of Israel over actions in Gaza.

According to news agency Reuters, Thursday's House vote was mostly along party lines, with just two republicans voting nay and 33 Democrats voting in favour. Democrat Representative from New York, Jerrold Nadler, said before the vote that while he opposed the global ‘boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, he would ⁠vote no, as he supports the right to free expression.

"It is the only way to ensure speech I do agree with is equally protected," Nadler said. Notably, the global BDS movement is an attempt to isolate ⁠Israel over its alleged treatment of Palestinians.

On October 7, 2023, an attack led by Hamas resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people in Israel. According to the Gaza health ministry, Israeli attacks since then have killed more than 73,000 Palestinians. Israel’s hardliner stance is increasingly becoming a subject of global criticism, sparking protests on several university campuses in the US.

The bill's sponsors said it was not intended to hinder academic speech or debate, but to prevent the targeting of Israel and ⁠Judaism, alleging that the protests were antisemitic and supported extremism. The protesters denied the allegation, saying advocacy for Palestinian rights and objections to the devastation in Gaza should not be equated with ‌antisemitism or ⁠support for extremism.