Capitol Hill. Photo: Wiki Commons.

Times of Israel – WASHINGTON — Only one day after the New York state legislature withdrew a bill that sought to punish would-be participants in academic boycotts of Israel, two Illinois congressmen introduced a bipartisan bill that would block federal funding for American universities engaging in a boycott of Israeli academic institutions or scholars.

Representatives Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL) introduced the bipartisan Protect Academic Freedom Act (H.R. 4009) in response to what the legislators see as “the growing threat of unjustified boycotts against the Jewish State of Israel.” The bill’s sponsors cited the December decision by the American Studies Association(ASA) to support an academic boycott as impetus for the legislation.

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