Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Links $1.9 Billion in State Disaster Funds to Israel Boycott Stance

2 hours ago

More Than 3,000 Boeing Fighter Jet Workers Go on Strike After Rejecting Contract Offer

2 hours ago

Trump Says He Will ‘Substantially’ Raise Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Purchases

3 hours ago

More Gazans Die Seeking Aid and From Hunger, as Burial Shrouds in Short Supply

3 hours ago

Man Drowns in Kings River, Marking Fifth Waterway Death in Fresno County This Year

3 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

1 day ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

3 days ago
US Links $1.9 Billion in State Disaster Funds to Israel Boycott Stance
Reuters logo
By Reuters
Published 2 hours ago on
August 4, 2025

A resident enters a FEMA's improvised station to attend claims by local residents affected by floods following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Marion, North Carolina, U.S., October 5, 2024. (Reuters File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON — U.S. states and cities that boycott Israeli companies will be denied federal aid for natural disaster preparedness, the Trump administration has announced, tying routine federal funding to its political stance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency stated in grant notices posted on Friday that states must follow its “terms and conditions.” Those conditions require they certify they will not sever “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to qualify for funding.

The requirement 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.

The requirement is the Trump administration’s latest effort to use federal funding to promote its views on Israel.

The Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees FEMA, in April said that boycotting Israel is prohibited for states and cities receiving its grant funds.

FEMA separately said in July that U.S. states will be required to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the government arrest migrants, an administration priority.

The Israel requirement takes aim at BDS, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement designed to put economic pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories. The campaign’s supporters grew more vocal in 2023, after Hamas attacked southern Israel and Israel invaded Gaza in response.

“DHS will enforce all antidiscrimination 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 said 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. The BDS Movement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The American Jewish Committee supports the Trump administration’s policy, said Holly Huffnagle, the group’s director of antisemitism policy. The AJC is an advocacy group that supports Israel.

Under one of the grant notices posted on Friday, 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 is due 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.

(Reporting by Courtney Rozen; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Howard Goller)

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Texas Governor Vows to Replace Democrats Absent at Monday Redistricting Vote

DON'T MISS

Triple-Digit Temps Returning to Fresno. How Long Will They Last?

DON'T MISS

Visalia Intersection Near Elementary School to Become All-Way Stop

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Is Freezing Over $300 Million for UCLA

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Rebounds as Fed Rate Cut Bets Intensify on Weaker Payrolls

DON'T MISS

The Jobs Data Revisions That Cost a US Government Statistician Her Job

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Jesus Eduardo Cardenas

DON'T MISS

US Links $1.9 Billion in State Disaster Funds to Israel Boycott Stance

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Felon Found With Stolen Truck, Guns and Drugs

DON'T MISS

More Than 3,000 Boeing Fighter Jet Workers Go on Strike After Rejecting Contract Offer

UP NEXT

Triple-Digit Temps Returning to Fresno. How Long Will They Last?

UP NEXT

Visalia Intersection Near Elementary School to Become All-Way Stop

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Is Freezing Over $300 Million for UCLA

UP NEXT

Wall Street Rebounds as Fed Rate Cut Bets Intensify on Weaker Payrolls

UP NEXT

The Jobs Data Revisions That Cost a US Government Statistician Her Job

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Jesus Eduardo Cardenas

UP NEXT

US Links $1.9 Billion in State Disaster Funds to Israel Boycott Stance

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest Felon Found With Stolen Truck, Guns and Drugs

UP NEXT

More Than 3,000 Boeing Fighter Jet Workers Go on Strike After Rejecting Contract Offer

UP NEXT

Israel Must Open Its Eyes. Defeating Hamas Doesn’t Require Starving a Single Child

Trump Administration Is Freezing Over $300 Million for UCLA

37 minutes ago

Wall Street Rebounds as Fed Rate Cut Bets Intensify on Weaker Payrolls

1 hour ago

The Jobs Data Revisions That Cost a US Government Statistician Her Job

1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Jesus Eduardo Cardenas

1 hour ago

US Links $1.9 Billion in State Disaster Funds to Israel Boycott Stance

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Felon Found With Stolen Truck, Guns and Drugs

2 hours ago

More Than 3,000 Boeing Fighter Jet Workers Go on Strike After Rejecting Contract Offer

2 hours ago

Israel Must Open Its Eyes. Defeating Hamas Doesn’t Require Starving a Single Child

3 hours ago

Trump Fired America’s Economic Data Collector. History Shows the Perils.

3 hours ago

Trump Says He Will ‘Substantially’ Raise Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Purchases

3 hours ago

Texas Governor Vows to Replace Democrats Absent at Monday Redistricting Vote

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has vowed to replace Democratic lawmakers who left the state over the weekend unless they return by Monday aftern...

8 minutes ago

Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks to the media at a press conference in Hunt, Texas, U.S., July 8, 2025. (Reuters File)
8 minutes ago

Texas Governor Vows to Replace Democrats Absent at Monday Redistricting Vote

11 minutes ago

Triple-Digit Temps Returning to Fresno. How Long Will They Last?

Visalia will install an all-way stop at the intersection of Dans Street and Visalia Parkway on Thursday, August 7, 2025, to improve safety near Cottonwood Creek School. (Shutterstock)
34 minutes ago

Visalia Intersection Near Elementary School to Become All-Way Stop

A pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, April 27, 2024. Last year, UCLA was the site of one of the nation’s biggest protests against the war in Gaza. The federal government is cutting research funds for the University of California, Los Angeles, over claims of antisemitism and bias at the institution, according to its chancellor. (Mark Abramson/The New York Times)
37 minutes ago

Trump Administration Is Freezing Over $300 Million for UCLA

A trader reacts as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the NYSE in New York, U.S., March 18, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/ File Photo
1 hour ago

Wall Street Rebounds as Fed Rate Cut Bets Intensify on Weaker Payrolls

U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer poses for a photograph in this undated handout image, obtained by Reuters on August 2. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

The Jobs Data Revisions That Cost a US Government Statistician Her Job

Jesus Eduardo Cardenas is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for August 4, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Jesus Eduardo Cardenas

A resident enters a FEMA's improvised station to attend claims by local residents affected by floods following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Marion, North Carolina, U.S., October 5, 2024. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Links $1.9 Billion in State Disaster Funds to Israel Boycott Stance

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend