Contact: press@ccrjustice.org
January 24, 2019, New York – Today, the Center for Constitutional Rights and Palestine Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of an ACLU lawsuit seeking to strike down an Arizona law prohibiting state contractors from boycotting Israel. The lawsuit, and the amicus brief in support of it, argues that the law violates the First Amendment. The filing situates Arizona’s law as part of a broader effort to suppress speech in support of Palestinian human rights.
“Political
boycotts—peacefully and collectively advocating for change by
withdrawing support from unjust systems—have helped dismantle inequality
and oppression throughout history, from civil rights boycotts in the
U.S. to boycotts against South African apartheid,” said Center for
Constitutional Rights Deputy Legal Director Maria LaHood.
“Boycotts against Israel are no exception—which is exactly why they are
under widespread attack by those who are trying to silence growing
demands for Palestinian freedom.”
The lawsuit
challenges an Arizona law, enacted in 2016, that requires any entity
that contracts with state or local government in Arizona to submit a
written certification that it is not currently boycotting Israel and
that it will not do so for the duration of the contract. More than 35
years ago, in the landmark case NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware,
the Supreme Court ruled unequivocally that peaceful political boycotts
are a form of constitutionally protected expression. The Center for
Constitutional Rights and Palestine Legal have long argued that anti-BDS
laws like Arizona’s are unconstitutional because they discriminate
based on viewpoint in violation of the First Amendment.
“Politicians
have made it crystal clear that the goal of these laws is to stop the
growing movement for Palestinian rights,” said Palestine Legal Senior
Staff Attorney Radhika Sainath. “But the state can’t punish people who
disagree with Israel’s discriminatory practices. If they’re allowed to
punish boycotts for Palestinian rights, no political boycott will be
safe.”
The amicus brief provides context for the
court, making clear that Arizona’s law is part of a broader nationwide
effort by Israel advocacy groups to suppress speech criticizing Israel
and in support of Palestinian rights. Palestine Legal and the Center for
Constitutional Rights have documented
censorship efforts on college campuses, against public libraries, and
at other institutions. Advocates for Palestinian human rights have lost
jobs and incomes, been punished, and faced harassment for their
advocacy.
Palestine Legal’s recently released report
on 2018 suppression trends reveals an increase in attacks on Palestine
advocacy by government officials, including through legislative measures
targeting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which seeks
to withdraw economic and social support for human rights violations by
the state of Israel. The Center for Constitutional Rights currently
represents former volunteer Board members who have been subject to
meritless lawsuits after their non-profit organizations endorsed
boycotts of Israel, in Davis v. Cox and Bronner v. Duggan.
Read the Center for Constitutional Rights and Palestine Legal amicus brief filed today here.
A
group of organizations, including American Friends Service Committee,
the Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church, Jewish
Voice for Peace, the US Palestinian Community Network, Friends of
Sabeel, the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel,
and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights filed a separate amicus
brief explaining how and why they engage in boycotts for Palestinian
rights, illustrating how they align with civil rights boycotts that the
Supreme Court has stated are protected First Amendment activities. Read
their brief, prepared by attorney Jethro Eisenstein, here.
The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University also filed an amicus
brief in support of the ACLU’s lawsuit, on behalf of 13 prominent First
Amendment scholars arguing that the First Amendment unequivocally
protects boycotts for Palestinian rights and that the purpose of the
Arizona law is clearly to suppress the political views of BDS
proponents. See the brief here.
The case, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, is Jordahl v. Brnovich.
A district court judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing
enforcement of the law. That ruling is currently on appeal in the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals.
For more information, visit the Center for Constitutional Rights’ case page.
The
Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to
fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and
strategic communications. Since 1966, The Center for Constitutional
Rights has taken on oppressive systems
of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic
inequity, and governmental overreach. Learn more at ccrjustice.org.
