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A bill to prohibit colleges and universities from receiving federal aid if they engage in discriminatory commercial and academic boycotts of major American strategic partners, including Israel, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives with a 237-169 vote on Thursday.
Introduced by Reps. Virginia Foxx (R NC-5) and Josh Gottheimer (D NJ-5), H.R. 4795 — the “Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act” — was previously advanced by the House Committee on Education and Workforce by a 24-9 margin following a June 25 hearing.
“Confronting antisemitism remains one of the most pressing issues of our time — there is no debate or question about it,” Rep. Foxx stated. “The bipartisan Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act is legislation that has true teeth and makes clear that concrete campaigns of antisemitism in the form of BDS boycotts have no place in any facet of civil society. This legislation is a true prescription to combat antisemitism head on, and I am immensely proud to author it.”
Ahead of Thursday’s vote, Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) President of U.S. Affairs Alyza D. Lewin sent a letter to all Members of the House of Representatives expressing CAM’s support for H.R. 4795.
“As the bill rightly states, limitations on cooperative efforts between American institutions of higher education and major strategic partners do not serve the security, stability, or economic vitality of the United States,” Lewin wrote. “Academic boycotts of Israel harm American students and scholars, weaken vital U.S.-Israel research collaboration, and lend the credibility of American universities to a discriminatory campaign that singles out the only Jewish state.”
“Ultimately,” Lewin added, “the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act sends a strong message that the federal government will not subsidize institutional discrimination. Swift passage of H.R. 4795 would mark an important step in protecting Jewish students and the integrity of the American education system.”
Read the complete text of Lewin’s letter HERE.
Other antisemitism-related bills supported by CAM awaiting full House floor votes include:
— H.R. 8476, No Antisemitism in Education Act. Introduced by Rep. Randy Fine (R FL-6), the bill would require local educational agencies and institutions of higher education that receive federal funding to treat antisemitic discrimination as rigorously as other forms of discrimination prohibited under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The bill uses the same definition of antisemitism as Executive Order 13899, issued by President Donald Trump in December 2019.
— H.R. 9203, Student Protection and University Accountability Act. Introduced by Reps. Elise Stefanik (R NY-21) and Laura Gillen (D NY-4), the bill would require colleges and universities to establish formal procedures for investigating antisemitism complaints, publicize those procedures to the university community, and provide regular briefings to Congress on the handling of Title VI complaints. In addition, the act prohibits Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) from dismissing a case simply because another entity is investigating the same set of facts. Institutions would risk losing federal funding if they failed to comply.
Read more:
US House Education and Workforce Committee Advances Bills to Fight Antisemitism in America’s Schools
