Pro-Palestine activist 'thrilled' with US State of Georgia BDS court win

A ban on a Palestinian boycott of Israel movement in the US State of Georgia has been found in breach of the First Amendment.

The 2016 law prevents Georgia from signing contacts of $1,000 or over with anyone who does not withdraw support for the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

This has been described as a "loyalty oath", including in a press release on the Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) website. The organisation is representing the plaintiff.

Abby Martin, a pro-Palestine journalist and filmmaker, was stopped from speaking at Georgia Southern University after declining to "sign a contractual pledge to not boycott Israel."

Martin is suing several figures either at the university or in the state university system.

District Court Judge Mark Cohen on Friday dismissed her claims against three people named in "individual" rather than "official" capacities.

However, he also "clearly indicate[d] his view that the law is unconstitutional", according to a press release on CAIR's website.

Martin said she was "thrilled" with the judge's ruling in a statement published on Monday.

"My First Amendment rights were restricted on behalf of a foreign government, which flies in the face of the principles of freedom and democracy."

She argued that Israeli authorities are putting pressure on US states to legislate against BDS due to increasing solidarity with "population they brutalise, occupy, ethnically cleanse and subject to apartheid".

"They want to hold back the tide of justice by pre-emptively restricting the right of American citizens to peacefully take a stand against their crimes."

Meanwhile, CAIR groups and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund heralded Judge Cohen's ruling as a "major victory".

"BDS in Europe has pressured governments. We need to be reproducing it" #Palestine https://t.co/xaEHXyN0yV

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) May 19, 2021

CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas added: "Israel's violent onslaught against Palestinians underscores the importance of advocacy for Palestinian human rights."

However, Martin's case is not yet over.

Although Judge Cohen ruled the legislation in breach of the US Constitution, the court is still to determine how it will deal with this.