Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) have reintroduced legislation that would cut off federal funding to universities that engage in boycotts of Israel.

The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act would prohibit institutions of higher education from receiving Title IV funds if they participate in any commercial or academic boycott as part of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

“The antisemitic rot that has corroded college campuses must be eradicated. Enough is enough,” declared Rep. Foxx, chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee. “If an institution of higher education chooses to capitulate to the caustic BDS movement, there will be consequences—starting with this bipartisan legislation.”

The bill comes amid a national reckoning over the explosion of antisemitic harassment and intimidation on campuses since the October 7th Hamas massacre. Jewish students have reported being physically assaulted, blocked from classrooms, and stalked by anti-Israel mobs—often with little to no response from college administrators.

Rep. Gottheimer, a Jewish Democrat from New Jersey and vocal critic of antisemitism on the left, pulled no punches.

“The goal of the BDS movement is the destruction of the democratic State of Israel, America’s critical ally in the global fight against terror,” he said. “BDS has no place on college campuses or anywhere in our country.”

“At a time when our Jewish students are facing death threats, being physically assaulted and blocked from going to class simply for who they are,” Gottheimer continued, “we must do everything possible to ensure they can learn safely, speak freely, and get the education they deserve.”

The legislation mandates that any university receiving Title IV funds under the Higher Education Act must certify to the U.S. Secretary of Education that it will not participate in any boycott of a “major strategic partner” of the United States—language that directly applies to Israel under existing federal law.

Anti-Israel activists on campuses have long pushed their universities to divest from Israeli companies, ban academic exchanges with Israeli institutions, and formally support the BDS movement. Lawmakers warn that these campaigns—often cloaked in the rhetoric of human rights—are, in reality, a vehicle for modern antisemitism.

While opponents of anti-BDS legislation often cite First Amendment concerns, courts have largely ruled that boycotts constitute economic conduct, not protected speech. That distinction has allowed dozens of state-level anti-BDS laws to survive legal challenges.

The new push by Foxx and Gottheimer follows similar efforts last year that stalled without a vote. But in the wake of mounting public outcry over unchecked campus extremism, the bill may gain new traction.

In July, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) took the unprecedented step of banning all student government bodies and campus entities from participating in boycotts of any country—a move seen as a direct response to the rise of BDS-linked resolutions across the UC system.

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