Anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) laws are legislation that aims to counter the BDS movement, which is a global campaign that seeks to pressure Israel to comply with international law and respect the rights of Palestinian people.
These laws have been a source of controversy because they have been criticized for infringing on First Amendment rights, such as freedom of speech and expression, as well as for being a form of censorship against those who criticize Israel’s policies. Supporters of anti-BDS laws, however, argue that they are necessary to protect the state of Israel and combat anti-Semitism from being singled out for aggressive tactics like boycotts, while opponents argue that the laws are an infringement on civil liberties and an attempt to silence legitimate criticism of Israel’s actions.
The Supreme Court recently announced that it would not hear an appeal to the existing 8th Circuit en banc panel which had ruled that Arkansas’ law prohibiting government contractors from engaging in economic boycotts of Israel .
This decision had led a surprising to overrule a previous divided 8th Circuit panel in holding that a law prohibiting governments from contracting with vendors who engage in anti-Israel boycotts was constitutional.
