(WASHINGTON, DC, 11/7/2022) – The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-GA), CAIR Legal Defense Fund and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) announced the filing of an opening brief in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in a lawsuit (Abby Martin v. Regents of the University System of Georgia) challenging Georgia’s anti-BDS law.
CAIR’s First Amendment appeal is brought on behalf of renowned journalist Abby Martin who refused to sign an anti-BDS loyalty oath to Israel as part of her contract to speak at Georgia Southern University (GSU).
In 2021, CAIR achieved a major victory on behalf of journalist Abby Martin when a district court held that Georgia’s law requiring the oaths was unconstitutional.
However, the court dismissed the claims against the specific GSU officials who enforced the unconstitutional contract oath on qualified immunity grounds. The rest of the case was eventually mooted by a legislative amendment signed by Governor Brian Kemp that attempted to protect the law from judicial review by excluding individual plaintiffs like Martin.
CAIR is appealing the qualified immunity dismissal against the individual defendants.
The appeal states in part:
“In conditioning Martin’s keynote on a loyalty oath to Israel and a bar on participation in the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement, Defendants violated clearly established rules, and qualified immunity does not shield them from Martin’s First and Fourteenth Amendment claims.”
READ CAIR’S APPEAL
[NOTE: The term “BDS” refers to the growing international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The nonviolent protest movement is aimed at pressuring the Israeli government to change its policies with regard to Palestinians.]
CAIR & PCJF win ‘major victory’ in federal lawsuit against Georgia’s anti-Israel boycott law; court rules anti-BDS law violates First Amendment
CAIR & PCJF Win Victory Against Georgia’s Anti-BDS Law
BACKGROUNDER:
Abby Martin is a renowned journalist noted for her in-depth coverage of Palestine, particularly the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank. An outspoken critic of Israel’s occupation and human rights abuses against Palestinians—and the U.S. government’s tacit support of it—Martin released her documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom in June 2019. One month later, Georgia Southern University (GSU) officials invited Martin to keynote the annual Critical Media Literacy Conference 2020.
That is when she ran afoul of Georgia’s law requiring state contractors to attest that they “do not, and will not for the duration of the contract, engage in a boycott of Israel.” At the time, the statute applied to all state contractors, whether individual or corporate, and contracts of any value. After Martin’s claim survived the state’s motion to dismiss, the legislature amended the law to exclude individuals and contracts valued at under $100,000.
Martin refused to sign such an oath, citing the very work she was recruited to speak about. But the state would not relent. Ultimately, conference organizers called out the censorship inherent in the law and canceled the event in protest.
In May 2021, the district court denied Georgia’s motion to dismiss and ruled the statute was unconstitutional. The order dismissed Martin’s claims against the GSU employees who enforced the contract on qualified immunity grounds.
CAIR filed a motion for summary judgment in September 2021, but the case was mooted after Georgia amended its statute to exclude individual contractors like Martin with contracts valued under $100,000. CAIR now appeals the qualified immunity dismissal against the individual defendants.
Judge: Ga. law barring contracts by groups boycotting Israel unconstitutional
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280,iallison@cair.com; CAIR Trial Attorney Justin Sadowsky, 646-785-9154, jsadowsky@cair.com