Home » News » Judge rules against Ga. in legal fight over Israel oath

By The Associated Press, published on May 26, 2021

Select Dynamic field

Ultra-orthodox Jewish man and boys pray as they gather for the mourning ritual of Tisha B'Av at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City, in 2012. The Jewish holy day of Tisha B'Av is when Jews mourn the destruction of the biblical temples. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that a Georgia law requiring some people to sign an oath involving Israel is unconstitutional.

A documentary filmmaker who refused to sign the oath sued the state last year, saying the law is in violation of free-speech rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Requiring people who want to do business with the state to pledge that they are not engaged in a boycott of Israel is “unconstitutional compelled speech,” U.S. District Court Judge Mark H. Cohen wrote in his recent ruling.

A spokeswoman for the Georgia Attorney General’s office, which represented the defendants, said it was unable to comment at this time, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Lawyers representing the state have said previously that Georgia’s law does not infringe on the First Amendment.

Georgia’s law, passed in 2016, requires some people to sign an oath pledging not to boycott Israel in order to do business with the state of Georgia.

In her federal lawsuit, Abby Martin says she refused to sign the oath, and her scheduled appearance at a Georgia Southern University media conference was then canceled.

The law is similar to others passed in recent years in more than 20 states, including Texas, Arizona, Arkansas and Maryland.

The Free Speech Center newsletter offers a digest of First Amendment and news media-related news every other week. Subscribe for free here: https://bit.ly/3kG9uiJ

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

More than 1,700 articles on First Amendment topics, court cases and history