City in Massachusetts Plans to Withdraw Financial Investments from Israel, Ignoring Trump's Warning of Retribution
In recent years, several U.S. municipalities have taken a stance against companies contributing to international human rights violations, with a particular focus on entities linked to Israel's actions in Gaza. One such city is Medford, Massachusetts, which passed the Values-Aligned Local Investments Ordinance in June 2023. This ordinance bars public funds from being invested in weapons manufacturers, fossil fuel companies, prisons, and other entities implicated in human rights abuses.
The ordinance has received support from local residents and attorney Micah-Shalom Kesselman, who believes it reflects the American public's desire for public money to not be used to fund human rights violations. Kesselman specifically mentions the funding of forcible starvation of the civilian population in Gaza and the detention of families by masked ICE officers as examples of human rights violations the ordinance aims to prevent.
However, this local momentum faces significant federal pushback. The Trump administration mandated that states and cities must certify they are not boycotting Israeli companies to remain eligible for substantial federal disaster-preparedness funding from FEMA, totaling at least $1.9 billion in grants. This federal policy effectively penalizes municipalities engaging in divestment or boycott activities targeting Israel by threatening their access to critical emergency management resources.
The Department of Homeland Security maintains it will deny funds "as it relates to the [Boycott, Divest, Sanction] movement." Despite some revisions to the specific language of the announcement, the threat of funding denial remains.
This reflects an ongoing tension between local governments seeking to use investment policies to influence human rights issues abroad and federal policies designed to block such efforts by linking them to federal funding eligibility.
Massachusetts is the third state to pass an ordinance barring investments in companies contributing to human rights violations, following California and Illinois. The Medford City Council president, Bears, did not immediately respond to HuffPost's request for comment on the Trump administration's threat to withhold funds.
References:
- HuffPost
- The Hill
- The Jerusalem Post
- The Electronic Intifada
- Minneapolis City Council
- The ongoing debate between local governments and federal policies reveals a tense alignment, as municipalities like Medford advocate for policy-and-legislation that prevents public funds from financing war-and-conflicts and human rights abuses, while the federal government threatens to withhold funding for divestment or boycott activities targeting Israel.
- General-news outlets have reported on this issue, highlighting the Trump administration's mandate that states and cities must not boycott Israeli companies to maintain federal disaster-preparedness funding, a policy that penalizes municipalities for their efforts to prevent funding for human rights violations.
- As the tension intensifies, crime-and-justice concerns, such as the forcible starvation of civilian populations in Gaza and the detention of families by masked ICE officers, remain at the forefront of local residents' and activists' minds as they advocate for political change with policies aimed at stopping such abuses.
