Is New York Anti-Boycott Bill in Trouble?
The New York State Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill intended to prohibit colleges from using any state money to fund groups that boycott Israeli universities.
Companion legislation was under consideration in the State Assembly and seemed assured of passage, given that it had the backing of the speaker, Sheldon Silver. Sponsors in both chambers said the legislation was occasioned by the Israel boycott adopted in December by the American Studies Association.
In effect, the legislation would prohibit colleges from using state funds to pay for membership fees in the ASA or for faculty travel to ASA conferences (though the bill doesn’t specify Israel by name and would seem to apply to any boycotts of universities in other countries where universities are chartered by the New York State Board of Regents.
The Albany Times Union now reports — in a parenthetical update to an early blogpost — that an Assembly committee pulled it from consideration.
Ryan Karben, a former Assemblyman, says that this is rare for any bill backed by the speaker, and that its shelving by the committee means that the bill is “disappeared.”
The bill had influential opponents, according to the Times Union, including the New York State United Teachers union, which sees the bill as an affront to free speech.
For the same reason, the New York Times also is opposed to the bill.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
