February 21, 2023 — New York
American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomes the U.S. Supreme Court decision today declining to review Arkansas Times v. Waldrip, a case regarding an Arkansas law opposing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
“The Supreme Court has confirmed our view that state statutes opposing BDS are indeed constitutional,” said AJC General Counsel Marc Stern. “The primary aim of the BDS movement is to eliminate the State of Israel. The court’s action gives a boost to efforts to put a stop to the pernicious effort to isolate Israel economically and morally.”
The Supreme Court decision follows a federal appeals court ruling last June that the Arkansas law that requires state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel did not violate the First Amendment. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the law, which was challenged by a newspaper that received advertising from a state college, fell within the state’s power to regulate its own commercial activity and did not infringe upon constitutional free speech protection.
AJC filed a brief in support of the state’s position in Arkansas Times v. Waldrip.
