ALBANY — A Long Island state senator has introduced a bill that would defund state and city university campus organizations that engage in hate speech — including anti-Israel boycotts.
The measure by Sen. Jack Martins (R-Nassau County) says the state and city by law are already prohibited from participating in an international boycott against American allied nations.
Martins’ bill would extend the law by prohibiting the state from providing public funding to student organizations that promote or engage in activities to boycott American allied nations, which are defined as Israel, South Korea, Ireland, Japan and all NATO countries.
Martins, who is running for Congress this year, has been publicly critical of the group Students for Justice In Palestine, which pro-Israeli outfits have accused of fostering anti-Semitic activities on CUNY campuses. He also has ripped the CUNY Doctoral Student Council for formally supporting the group in a resolution.
This article was originally published in the New York Daily News