ACLU Petitions Supreme Court To Overturn Arkansas BDS Law

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court over an Arkansas law that prohibits companies from boycotting Israel.

The ACLU is acting in behalf of the Arkansas Times, a weekly alternative paper based in Little Rock. In 2017, Arkansas passed legislation targeting the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (BDS) effort that aims to hold Israel accountable to its obligations under international law. In 2018, the University of Arkansas’s Pulaski Technical College informed the paper that it would have to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel if they wanted to maintain their advertising contract with school. Alan Leverett declined to sign the document and sued the state over the law.

In June, the eighth circuit court of appeals upheld the law. Alan Leverett states that, “The Arkansas Times…is not boycotting anyone. However, we object to the state requiring us to take a political position on behalf of a foreign government in order to receive advertising from our local government. As Americans it is our right to boycott or not boycott anyone, we please…Going back to the Boston Tea Party, the Montgomery bus boycott to the South Africa anti- apartheid boycotts, choosing to vote with your dollars is as American as voting with our ballots.” The Supreme Court will decide whether to review the Arkansas case during this term. **