A federal judge said a law in Georgia prohibiting the state from doing business with anyone promoting a boycott of Israel violates the First Amendment.
In a judgment passed Friday, District Court Judge Mark Cohen denied efforts by state officials to dismiss a lawsuit by Abby Martin, a progressive journalist and documentary filmmaker, who is challenging the law.
Cohen said in a 29-page ruling that the law “inherently prohibits expressive behavior protected by the First Amendment, encroaches on Martin’s right to freedom of expression, and is not closely tailored to a vital state interest.”
“Even assuming that Georgia’s interest in promoting foreign policy goals related to relations with Israel is a major state interest, the defendants fail to explain how Martin’s advocacy of a boycott of Israel affects Georgia’s ability to advance foreign policy goals with Israel “Said Cohen, who was appointed to the bank by ex-President Obama, wrote in the decision.
The lawsuit is still in its infancy and Cohen has not yet decided whether to repeal state law.
The Georgia Attorney General declined to comment.
Martin applauded the decision in a statement Monday, saying she was “thrilled” with the judge’s results.
“My rights under the First Amendment have been restricted on behalf of a foreign government, which goes against the principles of freedom and democracy,” she said
“The government of Israel has urged state legislators to enact these laws just because they know that sympathy and support for the people who brutalize, occupy, ethnically cleanse and subject them to apartheid are finally growing in the consciousness of the population – they want to stem the tide of justice by preventively restricting the right of American citizens to take a peaceful stand against their crimes. “
The Georgia Attorney General, who are defending against the lawsuit, did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
Martin filed the lawsuit last year after university officials canceled an agreement for her to speak at a 2019 Georgia Southern University event. Under the law of the state, the treaty for her speech arrangement would have forbidden her from participating in or promoting the boycott movement against Israel.
According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which Martin represented in the lawsuit, Georgia is one of 26 states that have passed laws to impede the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS), which is responsible for economic Pressure on Israel in protest against the occupation of Palestinian land and alleged human rights violations against Arabs under that occupation.
CAIR has challenged similar state laws and won positive court decisions in Arizona, Kansas, and Texas in recent years. The decision on Friday came after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that ended a brief, one-sided battle between the two sides.
Israel’s bombing in Gaza killed more than 230 people, many of them civilians, in recent weeks, according to Gaza health officials, while Palestinian Hamas rocket strikes killed 12 Israelis.
Israel’s strikes against the densely populated Gaza Territory and its crackdown on the Palestinian protests in Jerusalem over the past few weeks have outraged the growing number of Israel critics in the US, who also fight against laws that they believe dissenting opinions against Their own country’s foreign policy is stifling against the Israeli government.
“Israel’s recent violent attack on Palestinians underscores the importance of defending Palestinian human rights,” Gadeir Abbas, a senior attorney at CAIR, said in a statement. “By opposing this illegal anti-BDS law, Abby Martin is ensuring that all Americans are free to stand up for Palestine.”
