In a direct strike at the BDS movement, the Trump administration will deny up to $1.9 billion in federal disaster-preparedness funding to states and cities that boycott Israeli companies.
Washington, D.C. — The Trump administration has unveiled a hardline policy tying federal disaster-preparedness aid to political support for Israel, declaring that states and cities engaging in boycotts of Israeli companies will lose access to billions in FEMA funding.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued notices Friday warning that eligibility for at least $1.9 billion in annual preparedness grants will now require a formal pledge not to sever commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies. These grants help fund search-and-rescue equipment, emergency management salaries, and backup power systems.
The move builds on earlier actions by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which in January announced that local governments participating in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement would be ineligible for FEMA aid.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s office framed the policy as a matter of civil rights enforcement:
“DHS will enforce all antidiscrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism.”
The BDS movement seeks to pressure Israel economically to end its presence in Judea and Samaria. Its influence has grown in recent years, particularly after the October 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza in 2023.
While the new rule is largely symbolic—with 34 states already having anti-BDS laws or executive orders—it underscores the Trump administration’s readiness to link federal funding to its foreign policy priorities.
