The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by the Arkansas Times on Tuesday in its lawsuit against the trustees of the University of Arkansas (U of A) after a longtime advertiser in 2018 called the paper to certify that it does not boycot Israel, as per state law. The ACLU, arguing on behalf of the Arkansas Times, argued that this certification violated their First Amendment rights.

“This is a really important win that will give comfort to other states and municipalities that are considering joining the fight against BDS,” said Kenneth Marcus, chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and an amicus for U of A. “We now have anti-BDS legislation in many states around the country, similar to Arkansas. Some of them involve government contracts, while others involve pension funds. In every one of these cases, states are acting to ensure that taxpayer funds are not being used to subsidize antisemitic, discriminatory boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel. Until today, anti-Zionist organizations have been complaining that this legislation infringes on their freedom of speech. The Supreme Court has put an end to that.”