Harrisburg – June 7, 2024 Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-10th District) and Senator Christine Phillips Hill (R-28th District) introduced legislation that would maintain Pennsylvania’s unwavering support for Israel by prohibiting the Pennsylvania State Treasury or federal pension fund holdings from boycotting or divesting from Israel or companies that do business with Israel. The bill also provides for the withholding of state funding to institutions of higher education that boycott or divest from Israel.
The bill was introduced after protests this spring on college campuses across the US, in which activists, in some cases, succeeded in persuading universities to consider divesting from companies that do business with Israel or its government.
“Because Israel is a longtime ally and strategically important to the United States as the only true democracy in a volatile region of the world, it is important that Pennsylvania continue to foster trade and commercial activity with Israel,” said Senator Santarsiero. “To do this, we must act to ensure that the state, including its universities, does not take completely unjustified divestment actions from Israel.”
“Policymakers at all levels of government must do everything in their power to support Israel, our nation’s number one ally in the Middle East,” said Senator Phillips-Hill. “Like the United States, Israel will not be intimidated by its detractors. A strong and prosperous Israel needs a strong partner: the United States. This bipartisan action will ensure that no one can use anti-Semitic tactics to weaken our resolve to support Israel.”
This Act does not affect investment decisions made solely for the purpose of improving the fund’s financial position.
Senator Santarsiero first introduced a similar bill in 2015 that would have prohibited state funding to any Pennsylvania university that divested from Israel.
Senators Santarsiero and Phillips-Hill plan to introduce their bills in the coming weeks.
