Posted on 12/19/2018 6:44:49 PM PST by JeepersFreepers
A [Muslim] Pflugerville speech pathologist is suing Pflugerville ISD and the State of Texas over a law that prohibits state agencies from doing business with companies that boycott Israel, arguing it's a violation of free speech.
After it passed, several school districts added a clause to employment contracts stating contractors do not and will not boycott Israel.
Bahia Amawi found out about the clause in August. She worked with Pflugerville ISD for nine years as a speech pathologist for young children, with a specialty in children who speak Arabic. When the district sent over her contract, she said she saw a clause that stated: I. Pursuant to Section 2270.001 of Texas Government Code, the Contractor affirms that it:Does not currently boycott Israel; and Will not boycott Israel during the term of the contract.
"It attacks me personally. It attacks my family," Amawi said to reporters Monday. "I have a lot of family members who are still in occupied territory suffering from the brutality and aggression and struggling every day," she added.
She didn't sign the clause and, as a result, lost her job. Now she's suing the state and Pflugerville ISD.
Marc Rylander, the Director of Communications for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, sent KVUE this statement on the lawsuit: “Private citizens and companies have every right to express their views on any issue they wish by boycotting companies and citizens. They do not, however, have a right to use money they obtain from government contracts to make that statement. The taxpayers of Texas do not want their money used to marginalize and attack a key ally and trading partner of Texas, and they have said so at the ballot box. They, too, have the right to express their views.”
(Excerpt) Read more at kvue.com ...
"The claims that Amawi is being forced to sign a pro-Israel pledge or personally do or not do anything in particular regarding Israel outside the context of her business are false, and the First Amendment lawsuit will almost certainly lose. Moreover, it's nearly impossible to think of a way in which Ms. Amawi's speech pathology business would ever have an opportunity to in any way boycott or otherwise economically harm Israel, rendering this pure political theater." (quoted from Everyone is Misreporting the Texas BDS Lawsuit)
Clockmed played his little bit of political theater in TX as well.
Think about a law that prohibits government contracts with organizations that do abortions. Is such a law Constitutional?
Muslim educator, eh?
As Thumper’s mother said......
A loyalty pledge to a foreign country?
I think that such a law would be constitutional. An Obama judge might rule otherwise.
The problem I have with this sort of bill would be if a government contractor had to pick a supply contract from two firms, one an American firm and another an Israeli firm.
Theoretically they could pick the American firm for “Buy American” mentality only to have the lawyers of their competitors raise a stink that they violated this law by not picking the Israeli supplier.
I’m not saying this is written into the law now, but I know how lawyers just love to abuse written law to try to advantage themselves of disadvantage their competition.
I do support israeli’s right to exist as a sovereign country with it’s current borders, heck I wouldn’t mind hiring the contractor to make out wall that made theirs.
But I do hate excess laws as a principle, as the unintended consequences can be worse than the thing they were trying to fix with them in the first place.
How would an agreement not to boycott be considered a loyalty pledge to a foreign country?
[ A loyalty pledge to a foreign country? ]
It does sorta feel like that...
You gotta wonder who is paying the legal bills for this Mulism woman.
How is it not?
Wow! This article changes everything I thought I knew about this case.
*** How would an agreement not to boycott be considered a loyalty pledge to a foreign country? ***
She is a Palestinians American. She is an American Citizen. She does not buy Israeli produced goods, foods, etc. Why should she be penalized for choosing, and being honest about boycotting Israeli goods, etc.
I am in TX and was horrified when both Dems and Repubs passed this bill. Gregg Abbott stated, “What’s good for Israel is good for Texas.”
Israel is not Texas’ number one trade partner. Do we have to sign such a pledge or agreement for our trading partners higher on the list?
I support BDS because I think it allows people/companies freedom of conscience without a punitive response from government, rather than we must be little idealogues as mandated by our betters.
Because Texas should never warmly embrace the moslem death cult.
OK with blowing up Israeli buses?
It’s talking about refusing to do business, not about blowing up buses. But what’s a political brouhaha without a few good exaggerations, huh.
Cool with Antifa and CAIR and BLM, huh.
Oh, of course. Because to not want to buy from Israel is to want all those other things. The logic is so glaring.
Camel lips is wanting to prohibit free exercise of Judaism by damaging the Israeli economy and starving Jewish people out of Israel. Let him go back to walk in the desert of his homeland.
Oh, it’s a she. Can’t tell those folks apart from each other. Alright, here’s the revision.
Camel lips is wanting to prohibit free exercise of Judaism by damaging the Israeli economy and starving Jewish people out of Israel. Let her go back to do matronly belly dances in the desert of her homeland.
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