‘Obsessed with undermining Israel’ – US halts Judea and Samaria collaboration

The Biden administration is “discriminating against and banning cooperation with Jews based on where they live,” says Senator Ted Cruz.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

The Biden administration acknowledged on Sunday that it is halting all scientific and technological cooperative projects with Israeli institutions in Judea and Samaria, following the denial of a grant to a university located over the Green Line.

Former president Donald Trump reversed a U.S. policy barring funding and collaboration with Judea and Samaria-based educational and research institutions, signing agreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that removed any geographical restrictions to U.S.-Israel cooperation.

According to KAN News, Biden administration officials informed their Israeli counterparts of a decision to revert back to the previous U.S. policy of refusing to fund or collaborate with institutions located over the 1967 Green Line, shortly after a funding request for a research project from Ariel University was rejected.

“I object to the decision and think it is wrong. In similar cases in the past, the Israeli Government fully reimbursed parties damaged by such decisions,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said during a press briefing following news of the decision.

A Biden administration official downplayed the significance of the move when speaking to KAN, claiming that the decision “simply reflects the position of the United States over the years.”

They added that “we are working toward negotiations for a two-state solution, where Israel lives in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state.”

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) released a blistering statement saying that the decision was a victory for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement and slammed the government for what said is tantamount to antisemitic discrimination against Jews.

“Joe Biden and Biden administration officials are pathologically obsessed with undermining Israel. Since day one of their administration, they have launched campaigns against our Israeli allies that are granular, whole of government, and done in secret,” Cruz said.

“This new boycott of Israeli Jews is yet another example. The State Department is telling the entire U.S. government not to cooperate with Jews in Judea and Samaria. And, of course, it was sent to Congress in secret and only revealed because reporters found out,” he continued.

Cruz noted that “the Biden administration defends funding scientific research in Wuhan with the Chinese Communist Party, but they’re discriminating against and banning cooperation with Jews based on where they live.”