Sept. 3 (UPI) — The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill to bar colleges and universities from participating in boycotts of Israel or preventing students taking part in exchange programs with the country.
The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, which was backed by Republicans, passed in a 237-169 vote. Thirty-three Democrats broke with the rest of their party to vote for the bill, while two Republicans voted no.
According to the bill, colleges and universities that take part in federal student aid programs would be barred from participating in boycotts of Israel. Institutions that receive federal funds for international and foreign language programs would be required to certify they do not impose restrictions on students taking part in programs in Israel.
Students from Israel taking part in programs on their campuses also would be covered.
“This legislation is about a simple principle: our colleges and universities should not discriminate against Israel, Israeli institutions or Israeli students, and federal taxpayer dollars should never support institutions that engage in such discrimination,” said House Education Committee Chair Tim Walberg, R-Mich.
The ranking Democrat on the educational committee, Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, said the bill possibly violated the First Amendment.
“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.”
Most of the Democrats who voted in favor of the bill are facing tough re-election races in November, or back Israel. Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, who co-sponsored the bill, called it “narrow and tailored’ and needed to fight anti-Semitism.
“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 are from or what religion they practice,” he said in a statement.
“Yet, that’s exactly what the boycott-divest-sanction movement seeks to do – targeting one country and one religion: Israel and Judaism.”
The legislation now goes to the Senate for debate.