US Congress passes bill punishing universities that boycott Israel

The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a Republican-led bill that aims to penalise universities that engage in boycotts of Israel or attempt to prevent students from participating in exchange programmes in Israel. The act would solely apply to universities that are part of federal student aid programmes. Further, it instructs institutions receiving federal funding for international study and foreign language programmes to verify annually that they do not restrict students participating in programmes in Israel or students from Israel participating in programmes on their campus.