In July 2025, after severe flash floods hit Central Texas, a claim spread across social media platforms like X and Reddit that a Texas city required residents to sign an “Israel loyalty pledge” in order to receive disaster relief funds.
However, this claim is outdated and inaccurate, as it refers to an incident from 2017 during Hurricane Harvey, not the 2025 floods.
The 2017 Incident in Dickinson
The rumor likely stems from a situation that occurred in Dickinson, Texas, back in 2017. During the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the city of Dickinson included a requirement in its disaster relief applications for recipients to pledge not to boycott Israel.
This was tied to a Texas state law that prohibits government entities from doing business with companies that boycott Israel. However, this law was originally meant to apply to companies, not individual recipients.
Following national backlash and criticism from organizations like the ACLU of Texas, Dickinson’s city management removed the provision for individual applicants.
The law’s sponsor, then-state Representative Phil King, clarified that the state law was misunderstood by the city, as it applied only to companies and did not affect individual residents seeking disaster aid.
Clarification on the 2025 Flash Floods
A search for similar claims regarding the July 2025 flash floods revealed no such requirement in any of the affected areas. Key locations hit by the floods, such as Kerrville, Burnet, and various counties like Kerr, Travis, and Williamson, did not have disaster relief applications that involved signing a loyalty pledge.
No relevant information surfaced to suggest that the “Israel loyalty pledge” was part of the relief process in 2025.
The Misunderstanding
It’s important to recognize that the 2017 situation in Dickinson was a misunderstanding of state law and not related to the 2025 flooding. The Texas state law aimed to prevent taxpayer funds from supporting companies that boycott Israel, but the funds for Dickinson’s disaster relief came from donations, not taxpayer money.
In any case, the city quickly exempted individuals from the pledge after public outcry.
In conclusion, the claim that a Texas city required residents to sign an “Israel loyalty pledge” for disaster relief funds in the wake of the 2025 floods is incorrect and based on a misunderstanding of a 2017 incident. The situation in Dickinson was resolved years ago, and no such requirement exists for the 2025 flash floods.
