(Volokh Conspiracy-Reason Magazine) David E. Bernstein - Various states have passed legislation that bans their state governments from contracting with businesses that refuse to do business with Israeli-affiliated institutions and individuals. The ACLU has launched both a litigation and public relations campaign against the laws. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but there is something wrong with the ACLU publicly arguing that contractors are being forced to sign a "loyalty oath" to Israel. ACLU political director Faiz Shakir said: "a state is going to say that we're not going to do business with an American citizen because they refuse to take a loyalty oath." The ACLU blog reprinted an article stating that the law requires "a loyalty oath to the state of Israel." An ACLU legal brief stated: "There is no plausible justification for...the loyalty oath." This is complete nonsense. Contractors certifying that their businesses don't boycott Israel-related entities is no more a "loyalty oath" to Israel than certifying that they don't refuse to deal with black or gay or women-owned business or nonunion businesses is a "loyalty oath" to blacks, gays, women, or unions. By falsely spreading the meme that no-boycott certifications amount to not just loyalty oaths, but loyalty oaths to a foreign government, the ACLU has spread the canard that pro-Israel organizations want to use the force of the state to require everyone to be "loyal" to Israel. The writer is a professor at the George Mason University School of Law.
2019-03-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive