Arizona's attorney general is making the case that a 9th U.S. Circuit Court ruling that blocks implementation of an anti-Israeli boycott law should be overturned. The rule has been on hold since last year when a federal judge said it interfered with the First Amendment.
Since 2016, any company with a government contract was required to sign an agreement promising not to boycott Israel. This session, state lawmakers narrowed that to only companies with contracts worth $100,000 or more.
Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign argued that this new requirement is legal because the state has a "legitimate interest'' in ensuring public dollars don’t contradict public policy.
"Now that the statute will have a six-digit threshold, it can little be doubted that that sort of public money will inevitably result in some sort of subsidization of the activities," Ensign said.
These laws push back against a national movement urging firms to boycott, divest and sanction Israel over its policies dealing with Palestinians.
