US court suspends law prohibiting Israel boycott

US District Judge Daniel Crabtree yesterday temporarily suspended a law that criminalises the boycott of Israel in the State of Kansas.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the lawsuit on behalf of Esther Koontz a teacher trainer who had lost a contract because she refused to pledge not to boycott Israel.

The law, passed in July, prohibits the state from entering into contracts with persons or companies that boycott Israel.

The ruling is the first of its kind since the enactment of several recent laws aimed at prosecuting and punishing people who boycott Israel.

Judge Crabtree explained in his ruling that “the US Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment protects the right to participate in a boycott like the one punished by the Kansas law.”

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