House passes bill penalizing universities that boycott Israel

The House voted Thursday to penalize U.S. colleges and universities that boycott Israel or restrict academic exchanges with Israeli institutions, approving a Republican-backed measure that now heads to the Senate.

The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act passed 237-169, with 33 Democrats joining most Republicans in support. Two Republicans opposed it. If adopted by the Republican-controlled Senate and signed by President Donald Trump, the measure would affect universities that take part in federal student aid programs and other federally funded international education initiatives.

The bill would require colleges and universities that participate in federal student aid programs to avoid boycotts of Israel. It also would require institutions receiving federal funding for international study and foreign language programs to certify annually that they do not restrict students from taking part in programs in Israel or prevent students from Israel from participating in programs on U.S. campuses.

Al Jazeera reported that the proposal would bar federal funds to universities that boycott “an entity licensed or regulated by, or organised under the laws of” Israel, including academic institutions located in the occupied West Bank. The outlet also reported that critics are concerned the certification requirement could pressure U.S. universities to maintain ties with Israeli institutions in West Bank settlements. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, “have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law.”

Supporters said the bill is aimed at preventing discrimination, not limiting speech.

“This legislation is about a simple principle: our colleges and universities should not discriminate against Israel, Israeli institutions or Israeli students, and federal taxpayer dollars should never support institutions that engage in such discrimination,” said Rep. Tim Walberg, the Republican chair of the House education committee.

Walberg also said universities should not use federal programs “to discriminate against Israeli students, faculty, institutions, or businesses simply because they are Israeli.”

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat who co-sponsored the legislation with Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx, called the bill “narrow and tailored” and said it was needed to combat antisemitism.

“No student, no professor should be shut out of research, study abroad opportunities, or academic partnerships or feel unwelcome in the classroom because of where they are from or what religion they practice,” Gottheimer said. “Yet that’s exactly what the boycott-divest-sanction movement seeks to do – targeting one country and one religion: Israel and Judaism.”

Opponents said the measure is unnecessary and could infringe on First Amendment protections. Rep. Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the education committee, said no college or university has embraced the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

“So, we should combat antisemitism wherever it occurs, but we should not do so by punishing protected speech or conflating a student’s view with university policies,” Scott said.

Rights groups also criticized the bill. Jenin Younes, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, told Al Jazeera that “the government cannot condition its funding on suppression of First Amendment-protected activity” and that courts recognize boycotts as protected activity. Robert McCaw, government affairs director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called the proposal “a blatant attempt to hold American students’ financial futures hostage” to protect Israel and entities operating under Israeli law from peaceful economic pressure.

The vote followed heightened campus debate over Israel after the Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Student and faculty groups at some universities intensified calls for administrators to join the BDS movement, though The Guardian reported they were largely unsuccessful. The issue has divided House Democrats, including over U.S. military aid to Israel during the war in Gaza.