US states and cities that boycott Israeli companies will be denied federal aid for natural disaster preparedness
The Trump administration has declared that states and cities will be ineligible for federal disaster preparedness funding if they engage in boycotts of Israeli companies, according to an official statement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
To qualify for this funding, states must affirm that they will not “cut off commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies,” as outlined in FEMA’s grant requirements. This condition affects access to at least $1.9 billion in federal funds used for essential emergency preparedness items, such as search and rescue tools, emergency management salaries, and backup power systems, according to 11 grant notices reviewed by Reuters.
This move reflects the administration’s broader strategy of using federal funding mechanisms to reinforce political positions at the state level. For example, in July, FEMA announced that states would be required to allocate portions of their terrorism prevention funding toward aiding federal immigration enforcement — a central issue for the Trump administration.
The latest FEMA stipulation directly targets the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which has gained momentum since Hamas’s 2023 attack on southern Israel and Israel’s subsequent military response in Gaza. A spokesperson for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem stated, “DHS will enforce all anti-discrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism.”
The grant condition may have limited practical effect, as at least 34 U.S. states already have laws or policies opposing the BDS campaign, according to a University of Pennsylvania Law Review article. Nonetheless, FEMA’s requirement signals a strong symbolic alignment with pro-Israel policy.
Under a new grant posting released Friday, FEMA will require major metropolitan areas to certify compliance with the anti-boycott policy in order to receive a share of $553.5 million in federal funds designated for terrorism prevention in densely populated urban areas.
The American Jewish Committee voiced support for the new rule. Holly Huffnagle, the group’s director of antisemitism policy, said the Trump administration’s stance is welcome.