EDITORS' CORNER
Congressman warns the bill could violate free speech
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday to withhold federal aid from colleges and universities that boycott Israel.
The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026 states that federally-funded institutions “will not engage in a nonexpressive commercial boycott of a major strategic partner of the United States.”
In addition, students cannot be “unreasonably obstructed from participating in academic programs in Israel,” the bill states.
The Republican-controlled chamber approved the measure by a 237–169 vote, with 33 Democrats supporting it and two Republicans opposing it, according to Inside Higher Ed.
The legislation will now head to the U.S. Senate.
Congressman Josh Gottheimer, who sponsored the bill, said, “No student, no professor should be shut out of research, study abroad opportunities, or academic partnerships, or feel unwelcome in the classroom because of where they’re from or what religion they practice.”
“Yet that’s exactly what the boycott-divest-sanction movement seeks to do — targeting one country and one religion: Israel and Judaism,” he said.
He added that the bill is “narrow and targeted” so as to not infringe on free speech or academic debate.
“It simply says that if your university takes federal taxpayer dollars, it can’t discriminate against academic partnerships or investments with one country. That’s it. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bipartisan bill,” Gottheimer said.
Co-sponsor Congresswoman Virginia Foxx said college campuses are overrun with “antisemitic rot,” threatening the safety of Jewish students and faculty.
“Today, the House sent a clear message: if an institution of higher education chooses to capitulate to the caustic BDS movement, there will be consequences – starting with this bipartisan legislation,” Foxx said.
On the other hand, Democrat Bobby Scott of the education committee expressed concerns that the bill may infringe upon the First Amendment, Inside Higher Ed reported.
“No college or university has embraced the BDS movement anyway,” he said. “So, we should combat antisemitism wherever it occurs, but we should not do so by punishing protected speech or conflating a student’s view with university policies.”
In recent years, several student groups have made Israel divestment demands, including Columbia University’s student worker union.
Columbia’s union voted last month to drop its demand that the university divest from Israel following a stalemate in negotiations, The College Fix reported.
However, one union member told the student newspaper he expects a strike this fall.
Faculty at universities across the country have also engaged in anti-Israel acts.
For example, Haverford College faculty appear to be defying a recent settlement with a pro-Israel organization by publicly stating they will not write letters of recommendation for students wanting to attend schools in Israel.
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