The US House of Representatives advanced legislation to withhold federal funding from universities that boycott Israel, with 33 Democrats joining most Republicans in support. Party leadership objects over free speech concerns and for failing to differentiate between Israel and Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
The US House of Representatives advanced a bill early Friday to withhold federal funding from colleges and universities that adopt boycott policies targeting Israel. The legislation received bipartisan backing, with 33 Democrats joining most Republican lawmakers in support, according to a Times of Israel report.
The bill has drawn opposition from party leadership, who object on free speech grounds and argue that the measure fails to differentiate between the State of Israel and Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
This development follows an earlier phase of the legislative process. As The Zioneer reported earlier today, the House had previously passed a version of the bill 237–169 in early September, and officials were reportedly moving to implement the funding cuts. The current advancement appears to mark a next step toward enactment, though the specific procedural stage remains to be clarified.
The funding-cut legislation is part of a broader trend in Congress to counter institutional boycotts of Israel, reflecting growing bipartisan unease with BDS activities on American campuses, while also exposing divisions within the Democratic Party over free expression and the definition of prohibited boycotts.
What remains open is the precise next procedural step before the bill can become law, and whether the Senate will approve the measure as currently drafted.
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Source and signal
- Open-source intake