[Anti-boycott law provides model for legislation to protect oil
companies, gun makers and contentious industries from protest ]
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US SUPREME COURT LETS ARKANSAS LAW PENALISING ISRAEL BOYCOTTS STAND
 
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Chris McGreal
February 21, 2023
The Guardian
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_ Anti-boycott law provides model for legislation to protect oil
companies, gun makers and contentious industries from protest _

Supreme court declined to hear appeal from editor of Arkansas Times,
who was required to sign a commitment not to boycott Israel in order
to receive advertising contracts from the state., Photo by zacklur

 

The US supreme court
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Arkansas law penalising boycotts of Israel that has provided the model
for a proliferation of similar legislation to protect oil companies,
gun makers and other contentious industries from political protest
movements.

The supreme court declined to hear an appeal from the editor of
the Arkansas [[link removed]] Times,
Alan Leveritt, after a federal court upheld a law requiring him to
sign a commitment not to boycott Israel in order to receive
advertising contracts from the state.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asked the supreme court
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overturn the Arkansas law on the grounds it is in conflict with the
court’s own ruling 40 years ago
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boycotts have a long tradition in American history and are protected
speech under the first amendment.

The law is one of more than 30 passed by states in recent years,
backed by both Republicans and Democrats, that require individuals or
companies to pledge not to boycott Israel
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occupied Palestinian territories in order to do business with the
state.

The laws, pushed by groups such as American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (Aipac) and the American Jewish Committee with the backing
of the Israeli government, are primarily aimed at the Palestinian
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. But they have also
provided the template for legislation
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curb boycotts of companies over the climate crisis, gun control,
factory farming and others issues.

Leveritt said he had no intention of boycotting Israel, with which his
newspaper does no business, but he refused to sign the commitment
because it “requires the Arkansas Times to take a political position
in return for advertising”.

The editor said he was disappointed that the supreme court declined to
take the case but it will not change his position.

“We’re not going to sign any political pledges in return for
advertising. The supreme court can ignore our our first amendment
rights but we’ll continue to exercise them vigorously,” he said.

Although a federal court upheld the Arkansas legislation, courts in
other jurisdictions have ruled against similar laws and forced some
states to weaken their provisions.

Kansas revised its law in 2018 in the face of a lawsuit by a Wichita
teacher told to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel in order to keep
her job. Texas narrowed its law to exclude individuals, and to apply
only to larger companies, after a school speech pathologist sued when
she lost her contract for refusing to sign a similar commitment. The
ACLU and other groups also won judgements in Arizona and Georgia that
anti-boycott laws intruded on free speech rights.

Leveritt warned that letting the Arkansas law stand will lead to
further supression of legitimate political protest against corporate
interests.

“This is simply a template. It doesn’t stop here. We now have in
the Arkansas legislature bills introduced to deny state contracts to
financial and banking institutions that have ESG (environmental,
social, and corporate governance) policies that prohibit them from
investing in fossil fuels or firearms companies,” he said.

“In other states they’ve introduced laws to deny state contracts
to any company that subsidises their employees transportation costs if
they go out of state for an abortion. So this is just going to be used
time after time after time, eventually, the supreme court is going to
have to deal with it, or else it’s going to be open season on the
first amendment.”

Several states have passed the the Energy Discrimination Elimination
Act
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shield big oil
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share selloffs and other measures to protest against the fossil fuel
industry’s role in the climate crisis. Other legislation is designed
to prevent banks from “denying financing to creditworthy companies
solely for the purpose of marketing their environmental or social
justice credentials”.

The ACLU’s chief litigator in the case, Brian Hauss, described the
supreme court’s decision not to take up the case as a “missed
opportunity” to clarify the law.

“From the Boston tea party to the Montgomery bus boycott to the
boycott of apartheid South Africa, Americans have proudly exercised
that right to make their voices heard. But if states can suppress
boycotts of Israel, then they can suppress boycotts of the National
Rifle Association or Planned Parenthood. While we are disappointed
with the result in this case, the ACLU will continue to defend the
right to boycott in courts and legislatures throughout the country,”
he said.

Hauss said that given the conflicting rulings from different
jurisdictions over the legality of the anti-boycott legislation, he
believes the supreme court will have to confront the issue eventually.

“Sooner or later they are going to have to address this because
already the anti-boycott statutes are proliferating, and I’m sure
that is going to continue over the next several years,” he said.

_Chris McGreal writes for Guardian US and is a former Guardian
correspondent in Washington, Johannesburg and Jerusalem. He is the
author of American Overdose, The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts_

* BDS Movement
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* Supreme Court Ruling
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* economic boycotts
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