Supreme Court Lets State’s Rules Against Boycotting Israel Stand In Blow To The ACLU
The left just suffered a loss in court.
The Supreme Court refused to step into a legal fight over an Arkansas law that would require contractors with public contracts to not boycott Israel.
This allows the ruling by the Eight Circuit to stand.
The lawsuit was brought by the Arkansas Times which was represented by the ACLU.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to step into a legal fight over state laws that require contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel.
The justices rejected an appeal on behalf of an alternative weekly newspaper in Little Rock, Arkansas, that objected to a state law that reduces fees paid to contractors that refuse to sign the pledge.
The full federal appeals court in St. Louis upheld the law, overturning a three-judge panel’s finding that it violated constitutional free speech rights.
Similar measures in Arizona, Kansas and Texas were initially blocked by courts, prompting lawmakers to focus only on larger contracts. Arkansas’ law applies to contracts worth $1,000 or more.
The victory is an “important victory” against the BDS movement.
This ruling is likely to influence similar cases in other states.
The Court’s decision to let the Eighth Circuit en banc ruling stand is an important victory in the fight against government-funded discrimination against Israel. More than half of the states in the country have anti-BDS laws that, like the Arkansas statute, require government contractors to certify that they are not boycotting the Jewish state.
The Eighth Circuit is the only circuit-level court to have addressed the merits of the anti-Israel-boycott statutes. And although its decision is not binding in other circuits, it is nonetheless likely to influence courts seeking guidance in future challenges to other state’s statutes.
Great news!
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