Washington conditions disaster preparedness funds on rejection of Israel boycotts

The Trump administration says states and cities that boycott Israeli companies will not receive funding to prepare for natural disasters.

States must certify that they will not cut off “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to receive the money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the agency’s terms for grantees.

The condition applies to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover search and rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and backup power systems, among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters.

“DHS will enforce all anti-discrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism,” a spokesperson for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem says in a statement.

The requirement is largely symbolic. At least 34 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies, according to a University of Pennsylvania law journal.

FEMA will also 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, according to a grant notice posted Friday.

New York City is slated to receive $92.2 million from the program, the most of all the recipients. Allocations are based on the agency’s analysis of “relative risk of terrorism,” according to the notice.