A US federal court has ruled that a Texas law requiring government contractors to certify that they are not engaged in boycotts of Israel or companies that do business with Israel is unconstitutional.
Texas Governor Abbot's statement on the law
The law was passed and signed into law in May of 2017 and was praised by Governor Greg Abbot in a news release: "I am proud to have commemorated Israel’s Independence Day by signing into law Anti-BDS legislation in Texas. As Israel's number one trading partner in the United States, Texas is proud to reaffirm its support for the people of Israel and we will continue to build on our historic partnership. Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies, and we will not tolerate such actions against an important ally."
The original suit against the law
Edgar Saldivar, senior staff attorney to the Texas ACLU said: “This lawsuit is about fundamental First Amendment rights, which protect us all from having the government use its power to force us to choose one side or another in a public debate. Whatever you may think about boycotts of Israel, the bottom line is that political boycotts are a legitimate form of nonviolent protest. The state cannot use the contracting process as an ideological litmus test or to tell people what kind of causes they may or may not support.”
There four people for whom the suit was launched by the ACLU. John Pluecker is a freelance writer who lost two service contracts with University of Houston due to the law. George Hale a reporter for KETR who sing the certification against his will in order to keep his job. Obinna Dennar a Ph.D. candidate at Rice University. Dennar was forced to forfeit payment for judging at a debate tournament as he refused to sign the certification. Finally there was Zachary Abdelhadi, a student at Texas State University who had to forgo chances to judge high school debate tournaments.
Brian Hauss, an attorney at the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology project said the law was misguided and sought to undermine a type of protected expression that been part of US constitutional tradition since the country was founded.
Anti-BDS Texas law violates First Amendment of US Constitution
The judge ruled that HB89, the law, which came into effect in 2017 violates the First Amendment protection against government interference with political speech and expression. Tommy Buser-Clancy a staff attorney for the Texas ACLU who argued the motion to block the law in court said: “Today’s ruling is a victory for the free speech rights of all Texans. The right to boycott is deeply ingrained in American tradition, from our nation’s founding to today. The state cannot dictate the views of its own citizens on the Israel/Palestine conflict – or any issue – by preventing them from exercising their First Amendment right to boycott.”
Terri Burke, the executive director of the Texas ACLU said: “We applaud this decision, though nothing about it surprises us; in its decision the court has affirmed its understanding that this law was intended to chill the expression of personal opinion. By any name, that’s free speech and free speech is the north star of our democracy. It’s foundational, and this decision underlines that no issue of importance can be addressed if the speech about it is stymied, or worse, silenced.”
The suit was filed on behalf of four Texans who were forced to choose between signing away their right to boycott or losing job opportunities or income. One plaintiff John Pluecker said that the ruling goes beyond the plaintiffs in that all Texans need to know that their jobs will not be threatened by the state simply due to their political positions.
The entire decision can be found here. Similar laws have been blocked in Kansas and Arizona.
Previously published in the Digital Journal
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