Jewish doctor denied payment over refusal to support anti-BDS law in Arkansas

A Jewish doctor in the US is being denied payment for a lecture he gave because he has refused to abide by an Arkansas anti-BDS state law.

Steve Feldman, a dermatologist, gave a lecture via Zoom from his home base of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he is a professor, to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock medical students in February, for which he was owed US$500 from the state.

However, the state is refusing to pay Feldman the US$500 that he was promised because of a 2017 state law that requires public contractors to pledge to not support the BDS movement.

This falls short of the minimum monetary requirement of $1,000 for being relevant to the state's anti-BDS law. Nevertheless, the state of Arkansas, one of more than 30 states with anti-BDS legislation, appears to be making an example of this case.

For his part, Feldman also seems to want to make an example, by refusing to agree to the state's anti-BDS pledge. 

"They have a law in place that makes contracts with Arkansas dependent on your agreement not to boycott Israel, which I think is wrong," Feldman, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "To me, growing up Jewish, the very strong lesson of the Holocaust that I learned is it's wrong to mistreat other people."

Feldman, who has family in Israel, is outspoken about what he sees as the mistreatment of Palestinians by Israelis. He noted that for this reason, he supports boycotting Israel.

"I think the only thing that will lead to Israel allowing Palestinian families to return to their homes so that everybody can live together peacefully, will be some kind of boycott," he told JTA.

For now, he says he's exploring his legal options, which could include suing the state of Arkansas or going to the Supreme Court.

"I would love to sue and have the Circuit Court either retract what they said or go to the Supreme Court in order for people to see things that they didn't know," he told JTA. 

Rights advocates are commending Feldman's stance in not agreeing to Arkansas' anti-BDS pledge, which is widely seen as a violation of the first amendment of the US Constitution.

"Supporting the rights of Palestinians is not just a Muslim issue," said Justin Sadowsky, a trial attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in a public statement. "It is the teaching of all religions to stand up for human rights. We applaud Dr Feldman for his commitment to principle."