US states and cities boycotting Israel won't receive disaster funds, Trump administration says
States must certify that they will not cut commercial relations with Israeli companies to receive the money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Reuters reported, quoting grant notices posted last week.
The condition applies to at least $1.9 billion on which states rely for search and rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and back-up power systems, among other expenses.
'DHS [Department of Homeland Security] will enforce all anti-discrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement, which is expressly grounded in anti-Semitism," a DHS representative said in a statement to The National.
They were referring to a campaign designed to put economic pressure on Israel to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories. "Those who engage in racial discrimination should not receive a single dollar of federal funding.'
More than 30 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies, according to Newsweek. Fema will require major cities to agree to the Israel policy to receive a cut of $553.5 million set aside to prevent terrorism in dense areas. New York City is due to receive $92.2 million from the programme, more than all other recipients.
It is the latest example of the Trump administration making use of routine federal funding to advance its political message at the state level. Fema said in July that states will be required to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the government to arrest migrants, which is an administration priority.
Mr Trump has said that Fema should be eliminated, and that states should take on more responsibility for responding to and preparing for disasters including extreme weather.
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