WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
The administration of US President Donald Trump has said that states and cities will not receive disaster preparedness funds if they choose to boycott Israeli companies, the agency said in a statement.
States must confirm that they will not cut off “business relationships specifically with Israeli companies” in order to receive money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to the conditions the agency sets for recipients of the funds.
The condition applies to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover the cost of search and rescue equipment, emergency managers’ salaries and backup power systems, among other costs, according to 11 grant announcements seen by Reuters.
It is the latest example of the Trump administration using routine federal funding to promote its political message at the state level.
FEMA announced in July that U.S. states would be required to spend a portion of federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the government apprehend migrants, one of the administration’s top priorities.
The Israel-related requirement targets the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a campaign designed to put economic pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories. Supporters of the campaign became more vocal in 2023, after Hamas attacked southern Israel and Israel responded by invading Gaza.
“DHS will enforce all anti-discrimination laws and policies, including those related to the BDS movement, which is explicitly based on anti-Semitism,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
The requirement is largely symbolic. At least 34 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies, according to the University of Pennsylvania Law Journal.
FEMA will require major cities to adopt policies toward Israel in order to receive a share of $553.5 million earmarked for terrorism prevention in densely populated areas, according to a grant announcement released Friday. New York City is set to receive $92.2 million from the program, the most of any recipient. The allocations are based on the agency’s analysis of “relative terrorism risk,” the announcement said.
