ATLANTA (AP) – A federal judge has ruled that a Georgian law requiring some people to sign an oath involving Israel is unconstitutional.
A documentary filmmaker who refused to sign the oath last year sued the state, saying the law violated the freedom of speech guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Obliging people who want to do business with the state to pledge not to participate in a boycott of Israel is an “unconstitutional speech,” wrote US District Court judge Mark H. Cohen in his latest ruling.
A Georgia Attorney General spokeswoman who represented the defendants said she was unable to comment at the time, the Atlanta Journal’s Constitution reported. Attorneys representing the state have previously said that Georgian law does not break the first amendment.
Georgian law, passed in 2016, requires some people to sign an oath promising not to boycott Israel in order to do business with the state of Georgia.
In her federal lawsuit, Abby Martin said 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 other laws passed in more than 20 states in recent years, including Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, and Maryland.
