09.09.26
Editorial Note
On September 3, 2026, the US House of Representatives approved a bill penalizing universities that align with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
The bill, the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026, calls for the Department of Education to publicly list all the universities that do not abide by the Act’s provisions. To become law, it must pass the Senate and receive a presidential signature.
The bill was first introduced on July 29, 2025, and would withhold federal funding from a university that participates in a boycott of Israel. According to the bill initiators, a boycott does not serve “the security, stability, and economic vitality of the United States.”
The HR 4795 bill, co-sponsored by North Carolina Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx and New Jersey Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer, passed in a 237-to-169 vote, with 203 Republicans, 33 Democrats and one Independent in favor. Whether Democrats will grant sufficient support to pass the legislation in the Senate remains unclear.
If the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act goes on to become law, it would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require universities to refrain from “participating in a nonexpressive commercial boycott of Israel” in order to remain qualified for certain funds. Expressive conduct is “symbolic speech” designed to relay a message, like picketing, marching, flag desecration, and draft-card burnings.
In addition to forbidding boycotts, the bill also stipulates that institutions receiving such funds would need to “certify that students are not unreasonably obstructed from participating in academic programs in Israel.”
Gottheimer, who is Jewish, said in a statement, “This bill is an important step forward in ensuring academic freedom for all students… I will push the Senate to take up the bill shortly so it can become law.” Foxx stressed that the Act “takes a strong stand against the BDS movement on college campuses across the nation… This legislation has true teeth and completely severs any possible taxpayer support of these concrete campaigns of antisemitism in the form of BDS and academic boycotts of Israel,” Foxx said.
The wording of the Act includes the following:
“An Act to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit an institution that participates in a nonexpressive commercial boycott of Israel from being eligible for certain funds under that Act, to require an institution that participates in certain programs under that Act to certify that students are not unreasonably obstructed from participating in academic programs in Israel, and for other purposes.” And that, “The institution will not engage in a nonexpressive commercial boycott of a major strategic partner of the United States.“
Another issue is eligibility for Title VI funds. Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended by adding at the end the following new sections: “Annual requirement for institutional eligibility.—Not later than July 31 of each calendar year beginning on or after the date of enactment of the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026, an institution of higher education participating or applying to participate in any program under this title shall submit to the Secretary the certification required under subsection (b). An institution that does not submit such certification by July 31 of a calendar year shall be ineligible to receive any funds under this title in the first fiscal year that begins after such July 31, including any funds under this title that would otherwise have been available to the institution in such fiscal year for a grant awarded during a previous fiscal year.“
The Act includes a certification stating that “An institution shall certify to the Secretary that, for the period beginning on the date of such certification and ending on July 31 of the following year.” The institution will “permit students and faculty of the certifying institution to participate in academic programs, including conferences, teaching exchanges, cultural exchanges, study abroad programs, joint research, and other collaborative educational activities, in a major strategic partner… of the United States in the same manner, and under the same terms and conditions, as students and faculty of the institution are permitted to participate in academic programs in other foreign countries”; and “permit students and faculty of postsecondary educational institutions in such a major strategic partner to participate in academic programs offered by the certifying institution, including conferences, teaching exchanges, cultural exchanges, study abroad programs, joint research, and other collaborative educational activities, in the same manner, and under the same terms and conditions, as students and faculty of other foreign postsecondary educational institutions that are not in such a major strategic partner.“
Specifically stating, “It is the sense of Congress that limitations on cooperative efforts by institutions of higher education, consortia of such institutions, or partnerships between nonprofit educational organizations and institutions of higher education with a major strategic partner… of the United States do not serve the security, stability, and economic vitality of the United States.”
The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration, but the leadership has not yet set a date for the floor to debate or vote. The exact timeline and ultimate prospects in the Senate remain uncertain.
Since 2002, Israel has been facing academic boycott attempts from pro-Palestinian / anti-Israel activists, a trend that has intensified after October 7, 2023.
But the proposed legislation extends beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At present, Jews—and their collective embodiment in the State of Israel—are among the most harshly targeted groups in this ideological campaign. But Jews may be the proverbial canary in the coal mine. The model developed to delegitimize Israel and subject it to BDS, and other forms of institutional exclusion, need not remain confined to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Once such methods become accepted as legitimate instruments for advancing political causes, they can be applied to other countries, institutions, professions, corporations, and groups deemed ideologically unacceptable. What begins as a campaign against Israel can therefore establish a broader precedent for using academic, economic, and institutional power to punish those who fall outside an increasingly politicized consensus.
However, there is little evidence that the universities themselves are either able or willing to reverse this growing politicization. The question, therefore, is whether the government can simply stand aside while publicly supported institutions become increasingly politicized and while ideological campaigns acquire the authority of academic legitimacy. Government intervention should not aim at dictating what scholars may think or teach. Instead, it should ensure that universities remain committed to viewpoint diversity, intellectual freedom, and equal treatment.
In this respect, legislation restricting institutional participation in the BDS campaign represents a step in the right direction—not because the government should determine the political conclusions universities or their faculty must reach, but because it can limit the use of public institutions and public resources to advance discriminatory political campaigns.
Approving the law will deal the BDS movement a serious blow.
Israel Academia Monitor will continue to provide updates on the issue.
REFERENCES
US House passes bill stripping federal funds from universities that boycott Israel
The measure had the support of 203 Republicans, 33 Democrats and one Independent. But not all Jewish representatives voted in favor.
By Sharon Udasin September 3, 2026 6:46 pm
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would prevent federal funds from going to academic institutions that participate in commercial boycotts of Israel.
The HR 4795 bill, co-sponsored by North Carolina Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx and New Jersey Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer, passed in a 237 to 169 vote, with 203 Republicans, 33 Democrats and one Independent in favor. Whether Democrats will grant sufficient support to pass the legislation in the Senate remains unclear.
If the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act goes on to become law, it would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require universities to refrain from “participating in a nonexpressive commercial boycott of Israel” in order to remain qualified for certain funds.
Expressive conduct is “symbolic speech” designed to relay a message, like picketing, marching, flag desecration and draft-card burnings. A 2022 U.S. Court of Appeals ruling deemed economic boycotts nonexpressive commercial conduct as opposed to independent expression.
In addition to forbidding boycotts, the legislation also stipulates that institutions receiving such funds would need to “certify that students are not unreasonably obstructed from participating in academic programs in Israel.”
“This bill is an important step forward in ensuring academic freedom for all students,” Gottheimer, who is Jewish, said in a statement. “I will push the Senate to take up the bill shortly so it can become law.”
Foxx, meanwhile, stressed that the act “takes a strong stand against the BDS movement on college campuses across the nation,” referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign that aims to put economic pressure on Israel by barring the purchase of Israeli products and suspending trade agreements.
“This legislation has true teeth and completely severs any possible taxpayer support of these concrete campaigns of antisemitism in the form of BDS and academic boycotts of Israel,” Foxx added.
The Anti-Defamation League welcomed the bill’s passage on Thursday, deriding BDS activities as a tool used “to delegitimize Israel and demonize Jews and other students for their connection to the Jewish state.”
The Combat Antisemitism Movement, an interfaith advocacy group that aims to fight “Jew hatred,” echoed these sentiments. A Thursday statement from the coalition noted that ahead of the vote, the group had sent a letter to all U.S. House members conveying its support for the bill.
“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,” the letter stated.
Among the 32 Democrats to join Gottheimer in supporting the bill were many prominent Jewish lawmakers, such as Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Lois Frankel and Jared Moskowitz of Florida; Greg Landsman of Ohio; Brad Schneider of Illinois; Eugene Vindman of Virginia and Kim Schrier of Washington.
Yet not all Jewish legislators, even those who are against BDS, voted in favor of the bill. Ahead of the vote, Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York, vowed in a statement that he would vote against the bill and urged his colleagues to do the same.
While Nadler voiced his antipathy to BDS and acknowledged that proponents of the movement “can veer into antisemitism,” he stressed that “those who engage in BDS have a First Amendment right to do so.”
The liberal pro-Israel lobby J Street offered similar opposition, arguing that this bill would mean “infringing on constitutionally protected free speech and academic freedom.” Noting a distinction between Israel proper and the West Bank, J Street stated that “penalizing universities for expressing their opposition to activities that further annexation sets a dangerous precedent.”
Nadler, meanwhile, described the measure as both “a direct and gross violation of the First Amendment” and “the latest assault by the Trump Administration” on the nation’s academic institutions.
“No matter how much I may disagree with BDS, and find it strategically stupid and morally repugnant, I will always fight to protect Americans’ right to speech with which I disagree,” he added. “It is the only way to ensure speech I do agree with is equally protected.
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Engrossed in House (09/03/2026)
| 119th CONGRESS 2d Session |
H. R. 4795
AN ACT
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit an institution that participates in a nonexpressive commercial boycott of Israel from being eligible for certain funds under that Act, to require an institution that participates in certain programs under that Act to certify that students are not unreasonably obstructed from participating in academic programs in Israel, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. Ineligibility of institutions of higher education participating in certain nonexpressive commercial boycotts.
Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(30) (A) The institution will not engage in a nonexpressive commercial boycott of a major strategic partner of the United States.
“(B) For purposes of this paragraph:
“(i) The term ‘major strategic partner’ means, with respect to the United States—
“(I) a country described in section 4 of Public Law 113–296; or
“(II) an entity licensed or regulated by, or organized under the laws of, such a country.
“(ii) The term ‘nonexpressive commercial boycott of a major strategic partner’—
“(I) means a commercial action (including engaging in refusals to deal and terminating business activities) that—
“(aa) is intended to limit commercial relations with a major strategic partner; and
“(bb) is not based on a valid business reason; and
“(II) does not include actions described in regulations issued to provide for the exceptions described in section 1773(a)(2) of the Anti-Boycott Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4842(a)(2)).”.
SEC. 3. Eligibility for title VI funds.
Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new sections:
“SEC. 639. Institutional certifications.
“(a) Annual requirement for institutional eligibility.—Not later than July 31 of each calendar year beginning on or after the date of enactment of the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026, an institution of higher education participating or applying to participate in any program under this title shall submit to the Secretary the certification required under subsection (b). An institution that does not submit such certification by July 31 of a calendar year shall be ineligible to receive any funds under this title in the first fiscal year that begins after such July 31, including any funds under this title that would otherwise have been available to the institution in such fiscal year for a grant awarded during a previous fiscal year.
“(b) Certification.—An institution shall certify to the Secretary that, for the period beginning on the date of such certification and ending on July 31 of the following year, the institution will—
“(1) permit students and faculty of the certifying institution to participate in academic programs, including conferences, teaching exchanges, cultural exchanges, study abroad programs, joint research, and other collaborative educational activities, in a major strategic partner (as defined in section 487(a)(30)) of the United States in the same manner, and under the same terms and conditions, as students and faculty of the institution are permitted to participate in academic programs in other foreign countries; and
“(2) permit students and faculty of postsecondary educational institutions in such a major strategic partner to participate in academic programs offered by the certifying institution, including conferences, teaching exchanges, cultural exchanges, study abroad programs, joint research, and other collaborative educational activities, in the same manner, and under the same terms and conditions, as students and faculty of other foreign postsecondary educational institutions that are not in such a major strategic partner.
“SEC. 639A. Sense of Congress.
“It is the sense of Congress that limitations on cooperative efforts by institutions of higher education, consortia of such institutions, or partnerships between nonprofit educational organizations and institutions of higher education with a major strategic partner (as defined in section 487(a)(30)) of the United States do not serve the security, stability, and economic vitality of the United States.”.
Passed the House of Representatives September 3, 2026.Attest:
Clerk.
| 119th CONGRESS 2d SessionH. R. 4795 |
| AN ACT |
| To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit an institution that participates in a nonexpressive commercial boycott of Israel from being eligible for certain funds under that Act, to require an institution that participates in certain programs under that Act to certify that students are not unreasonably obstructed from participating in academic programs in Israel, and for other purposes. |
israel-academia-monitor.com 