Federal judge says boycotts are protected free speech, declaring the Texas law fails to serve compelling state interest.
A federal judge has blocked enforcement of a Texas law that requires contractors to certify that they don’t boycott Israel.
In a 56-page opinion filed Thursday, US District Judge Robert Pitman of Austin said boycotts are protected free speech, declaring the law fails to serve a compelling state interest.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas filed the federal suit in December against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and others. It argued the law forces people to choose between their First Amendment rights and their livelihoods.
Texas is among 25 states that has enacted similar bans on participation in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. He said the statute “threatens ‘to suppress unpopular ideas’ and ‘manipulate the public debate through coercion
rather than persuasion”.
The lawsuit was a consolidation of two court actions. One was brought last December by the Council on American-Islamic Relations on behalf of Bahia Amawi, a Palestinian Muslim speech pathologist and US citizen who lost her job with a suburban Austin school district because she refused
to sign a “No Boycott of Israel” clause mandated by the state.
Another was brought by the ACLU of Texas on behalf of four persons against two local school districts and two state university boards of regents. The lawsuit claims the four plaintiffs bringing the suit have either lost “contracting opportunities” because they declined to sign the certification,
or they signed “at the expense” of their First Amendment rights. One plaintiff lost two service contracts from a university, and another was forced to forfeit payment for judging a debate tournament tied to a school district, according to the suit.
In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations hailed the court ruling.
“Arabic-speaking schoolchildren in Texas have been deprived of critical services from Bahia Amawi for almost this entire school year because of this unconstitutional law. Today, we welcome a victory for the First Amendment,” said Lena Masri, CAIR national litigation director in a
statement.
Tommy Buser-Clancy, staff lawyer for the ACLU of Texas who argued the case, called the ruling “a victory for the free speech of all Texans. The right to boycott is deeply ingrained in American tradition, from our nation’s founding to today.”
Emails to the Texas Attorney General’s Office drew no immediate response on Thursday.
