Texas AG, universities face suit over Israel boycott law

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas on Tuesday filed a lawsuit over a state law requiring contractors to certify they do not boycott Israel, arguing the law forces people to choose between their First Amendment rights and their livelihoods.

Similar requirements appear in upward of a dozen states but still violate free speech protections under the Constitution, according to the ACLU. State Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with two school districts and two universities, are listed as defendants.

The suit asserts that the parties bringing the suit have either lost “contracting opportunities” because they declined to sign the certification or signed “at the expense” of their First Amendment rights. It says the law went into effect last year and requires contractors to certify that they do not boycott Israel or Israel-controlled territories.

The litigation asks the court to declare that the requirement violates the Fourteenth and First Amendments.