February 23, 2023

Supreme Court Lets Arkansas Law Penalizing Israel Boycotts Stand

Portside -  The US Supreme Court has let stand an Arkansas law penalizing 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 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  asked the Supreme Court to overturn the Arkansas law on the grounds it is in conflict with the court’s own ruling 40 years ago that popular boycotts have a long tradition in American history and are protected speech under the first amendment.

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