[rad-green] Filmmaker who wouldn’t sign Georgia ’s Israel oath sues state over right to boycott

*https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/filmmaker-who-wouldnt-sign-georgias-israel-oath-sues-state/2020/02/10/bf4c3580-4c42-11ea-967b-e074d302c7d4_story.html
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/filmmaker-who-wouldnt-sign-georgias-israel-oath-sues-state/2020/02/10/bf4c3580-4c42-11ea-967b-e074d302c7d4_story.html>Associated
Press          Feb. 10, 2020*



*Filmmaker who wouldn’t sign Georgia’s Israel oath sues stateBy Jeff Martin
| AP *

[image: image.png]
Abby Martin

ATLANTA — A documentary filmmaker who refused to sign Georgia’s required
oath involving Israel is suing the state, saying the law is in violation of
free speech rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

A Georgia law passed in 2016 requires some people to sign an oath pledging
not to boycott the Israeli government in order to do business in the state.

In her federal lawsuit, Abby Martin says she refused to sign the oath, and
her scheduled appearance this month at a Georgia Southern University media
conference was then cancelled.

“I will not forfeit my constitutional rights by signing this pledge,”
Martin said at a Monday news conference to announce the lawsuit.

Spokespeople within Georgia’s university system referred questions to
Georgia Southern spokesman John Lester. He said Georgia Southern hasn’t yet
seen the lawsuit.

“Ms. Martin’s concerns appear to be related to requirements of a state law
enacted in 2016,” Lester said in a statement.

The law “requires that anyone who wants to contract with the state of
Georgia for services worth more than $1,000 sign an oath pledging that they
will not boycott the lsraeli government,” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell,
executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Georgia.

“That oath applies whether you are a substitute teacher who wants to work
for our public school system, whether you are a construction worker who
wants to build something for our state, or whether you are a journalist who
wants to speak at a state university,” Mitchell said.

“Imagine if during the Civil Rights movement, the state of Alabama passed a
law saying if you want to work for our state, you can not participate in
the Montgomery bus boycott,” he added.

Martin was to be paid a $1,000 honorarium plus expenses to be the keynote
speaker for the 2020 International Critical Media Literacy Conference. So
university officials asked her to sign a “Memorandum of Agreement” which
stated: “You certify that you are not currently engaged in, and agree for
the duration of this agreement not to engage in, a boycott of Israel.”

After Martin refused to sign, the university prevented her from speaking
and the entire conference was cancelled, the lawsuit states.

The law is similar to others passed in recent years in more than 20 states,
including Texas, Arizona, Arkansas and Maryland, Mitchell said. His
organization has been involved in fighting such laws nationwide, including
Georgia’s.

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