Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Appeal of Arkansas Anti-BDS Law

WASHINGTON (AP/Hamodia) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to step into a legal fight over state laws that require contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel or support the BDS movement.

The justices rejected an appeal on behalf of an alternative weekly newspaper in Little Rock, Arkansas, that objected to a state law that reduces fees paid to contractors that refuse to sign the pledge.

The full federal appeals court in St. Louis upheld the law, overturning a three-judge panel’s finding that it violated constitutional free speech rights.

Many states, including New York, have passed laws mandating that no government money can be used in investing with entities tied to the movement, which paints Israel as an “apartheid” state and accuses it of genocide. Many Jewish groups, and the Israeli government say that BDS denies Israel’s right to exist. People associated with BDS have made antisemitic statements, tapping into tropes about Jewish money, and accusing Jews of dual-loyalty, according to the ADL,

Measures similar to Arkansas’ law were made in Arizona, Kansas and Texas, and were initially blocked by courts, prompting lawmakers to focus only on larger contracts. Arkansas’ law applies to contracts worth $1,000 or more.