A newly introduced bill in the Washington State Legislature, HB 2293, would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from participating in training, exchanges, or partnerships with foreign military, intelligence, or security services. While the bill is written broadly, it’s clear that Israel is a central target.
HB 2293, sponsored by Representative Darya Farivar, an Iranian American, would bar Washington law enforcement agencies, including the Washington State Patrol and the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC), from engaging in any training programs or exchanges with foreign security forces. The legislation also prohibits funding or facilitating travel for officers to train with such entities abroad.
🧵NEW: Iranian American Democratic Rep Darya Farivar is proposing legislation to ban Washington law enforcement from training, exchanges, or partnerships with Israel
The irony is, there currently isn't any agency doing so pic.twitter.com/ZljjE7j6mM
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) January 12, 2026
On paper, the bill applies to all foreign countries. In practice, however, Israel is one of the most prominent and frequently targeted nations in campaigns seeking to sever police cooperation. Israel has long been a global leader in counterterrorism, emergency response, and civilian protection training, sharing best practices developed under constant threat from terrorism. Police departments from democracies around the world, including Europe, North America, and Asia, have voluntarily partnered with Israeli counterparts to learn how to respond to mass-casualty attacks, hostage situations, and coordinated terror incidents.
HB 2293 would prohibit state & local law enforcement agencies from participating in training, exchanges, or partnerships with foreign military, intelligence, or security services. While the bill is written broadly, it's clear that Israel is a central target. pic.twitter.com/YvBSWdjscE
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) January 12, 2026
However, no regular statewide training program currently exists for Washington law enforcement to train with Israeli police or security forces. Individual officers from Washington have participated in Israel training focused on counterterrorism and security practices through US exchange programs in the past.
Farivar has a long public record of hostility toward the Jewish state, repeatedly framing Israel not as a democratic ally confronting terrorism, but as a primary source of violence in the Middle East. That record was on clear display in June, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, strikes that reportedly destroyed three Iranian nuclear sites.
In a statement to the media after the operation, Farivar said: “I’ve felt grief, I’ve felt disappointed and frustrated and angry, and it comes back down to heartbreak. I’m heartbroken for Iranians that only want peace, only want freedom, only want the same opportunities as you and I, but instead, they are constantly oppressed and beaten by their government. They’re bombed by Israel and the United States, and they’re vilified by the West.”
Notably absent from Farivar’s remarks was any acknowledgment of Iran’s role as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, its arming of proxy militias across the region, or its repeated calls for Israel’s destruction. Instead, Israel was placed alongside the Iranian regime’s oppression as a moral equivalent, an inversion that mirrors the logic underlying HB 2293.
During the previous legislative session, Farivar introduced HB 1412, a bill to establish a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Commission intended to provide institutional recognition and a stronger voice for MENA Washingtonians. While the bill highlighted the cultural and societal contributions of Syrians, Lebanese, and Palestinians in Washington in detailed and affirmative terms, it failed to mention the contributions of Jews or Israelis, despite their longstanding presence and impact within the state.
Farivar is in deep with @CAIRWashington, a branch of Hamas in the US that was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holyland Foundation trial, the largest terror case in the US. She supported its local head @imraansiddiqi, a Hamas supporter's failed run for office pic.twitter.com/zqSvsIzgDj
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) January 12, 2026
Farivar has rallied against the Jewish state and in favor of the Palestinians in the wake of Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, which was backed by Iran. She has also worked with the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holyland Foundation trial, the largest terror financing case in US history.
She is also an ally of @ramialkabra, who scuffled with Israelis the day of the Oct 7 terror attacks, and is a radical anti-Israel activist. She was one of the reps to vote against giving police back the ability to pursue criminal suspects & do their job pic.twitter.com/I5f7wuvoBc
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) January 12, 2026
HB 2293 does not allege misconduct by Israeli trainers, nor does it cite any failures or abuses arising from past exchanges. Instead, it imposes a blanket prohibition that treats Israel’s security institutions, the same institutions that help protect civilians from terrorism, as suspect. The bill would also deprive Washington officers of access to internationally recognized expertise in crisis response, bomb mitigation, and active-assailant scenarios.
Farivar hates Israel & the US. She criticized the countries after they bombed Iran in June and destroyed the terror regime's nuclear capabilities.
Ironically, she advocates for the trans agenda, ignoring that her terrorist buddies throw LGBTQ people off roofs pic.twitter.com/bMuiswUnlM
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) January 12, 2026
Ironically, the Criminal Justice Training Commission already oversees a comprehensive, state-controlled curriculum for law enforcement, including cultural awareness, crisis intervention, and defensive tactics. Any optional foreign training supplements these standards and occurs under agency oversight. HB 2293 would eliminate that discretion entirely, substituting political ideology for professional judgment.
