Federal court in Arkansas upholds anti-BDS legislation
A federal court in Arkansas upheld the constitutionality of statewide anti-BDS legislation, striking a blow to BDS activists and constitutional challenges that such laws violate the First Amendment right of free expression on January 23, 2019.
The American Civil Liberties Union in behalf of the Arkansas Times, LP, filed a motion for injunctive relief challenging the constitutionality of Arkansas Act 710, a state statute requiring that companies doing business with the state must first certify that they are not boycotting Israel. The court denied Arkansas Times, LP’s motion for a preliminary injunction, stating that “[t]he Times is unlikely to prevail on the merits of its First Amendment claims because it has not demonstrated that a boycott of Israel, as defined by Act 710, is protected by the First Amendment.”
Arkansas is hardly alone in anti-BDS legislation. In fact, 26 states have passed some form of anti-BDS legislation. The court also cites similar federal law “authorizing the “President [to] issue regulations prohibiting any United States person. . . from . . . support[ing] any boycott fostered or imposed by a foreign country against a [friendly] country.” The court reasoned that a boycott is neither protected speech nor inherently expressive conduct. The court further distinguished between boycotts where one’s constitutional rights are being infringed against by the government and boycotts by those whose rights are not being infringed upon. Here, since participation in any boycott against Israel is purely non-expressive conduct of refusing to deal commercially, First Amendment arguments are not valid.
In the decision, the judge explained that the state is harmed by doing business with companies which boycott Israel. “Israel in particular is known for its dynamic and innovative approach in many business sectors, and therefore a company’s decision to discriminate against Israel, Israeli entities, or entities that do business with or in Israel, is an unsound business practice, making the company an unduly risky contracting partner or vehicle for investment.”
“We commend the wisdom of the judge’s decision,” StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein said. “As the court recognized, taxpayers need to be protected from being complicit in discrimination, which both undermines state policy and harms its economy.” — From StandWithUs
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Israel set to realize its lunar landing project
SpaceIL, Israel’s first lunar Spacecraft, is headed to Cape Canaveral for launch.
In November 2016, Yonatan Winetraub, Co-Founder of SpaceIL, was invited by the Murray Galinson San Diego Israel Initiative (MGSDII) to come to San Diego to speak to engineering students and faculty at UCSD, SDSU, and USD. He spoke about Israel’s dream to make history by placing an unmanned spacecraft on the moon’s surface!
During his talks, Winetraub explained how the entire country of Israel, from young school children to top engineers, are following and cheering on the project. The Israeli spacecraft – which has been named Beresheet (beginning) – started with SpaceIL founders Yariv Batash, Yonatan Weintraub and Kfir Damari in 2010.
A digitized time capsule containing Israel’s Declaration of Independence, the traveler’s prayer Tefilat Haderech, the Bible, the Israeli flag, maps of the State of Israel, the national anthem, a photograph of Ilan Ramon (Israel’s pioneer astronaut who died in the fatal explosion of the Columbia Space Shuttle of 2006), and pictures drawn by Israeli children will be on board.
Once Beresheet reaches Cape Canaveral, Florida, it will be carried by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This will make Israel the fourth country after the United States, the USSR, and China to embark on a lunar landing mission. — From Murray Galinson San Diego Israel Initiative
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Netanyahu joins Lone Soldiers a Yom Siddurim event
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday morning attended the Nefesh B’Nefesh and Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) 6th annual “Yom Siddurim” (personal errands day) for IDF Lone Soldiers in Tel Aviv, organized together with the IDF Human Resources Department.
PM Netanyahu greeted over 1,600 Lone Soldiers from 70 different countries in attendance, all of whom benefited from the various resources provided during the event.
The errands day, held in cooperation with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, Ministry of Interior, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, Jewish National Fund-USA and with the assistance of Yahad – United for Israel’s Soldiers, brought together all of the essential civilian agencies whose services are needed by Lone Soldiers in order to streamline the soldiers’ efforts to take care of their logistical tasks and requirements.
From driving tests administered on site, to tax consultation, passport and ID assistance, and even an employment workshop, Lone Soldiers also had the opportunity to receive one-on-one personal consultation from Nefesh B’Nefesh and FIDF on acclimating into post-Army life in Israel.
“Military service is hard and complicated for every soldier, and even more so for Lone Soldiers. Their decision to come to Israel and enlist in the IDF is a brave and noble act, one that is rooted in a deep sense of mission, determination, and love of the country. This is true Zionism,” said Maj. Gen. (Res.) Meir Klifi-Amir, FIDF National Director and CEO. “FIDF supporters will continue to stand by their side and support all Lone Soldiers with a range of services during and after their military service, out of gratitude and profound appreciation for their contribution, and to ensure that not one of them ever feels alone.”
Other notable dignitaries who attended Yom Siddurim included Members of Knesset Yoav Galant (Likud) and Pnina Tamano-Shata (Yesh Atid), Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked (New Right), and Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri (Shas). — From Nefesh B’Nefesh
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Terror victims successful in placing lien on Arafat estate-owned land
The Jerusalem District Court issued on Tuesday a temporary lien for a plot of land in East Jerusalem belonging to the estate of Yasser Arafat.
The court issued the order at the request of victims of terrorism who filed a civil damages lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority and Arafat’s estate.
The plaintiffs claimed that if they win the lawsuit, it will be difficult to collect the compensation from the estate, and as a result they also asked to place the lien on the property so they can collect their damages. The plaintiffs are eight families of terror victims, represented by attorneys Nitsana Darshan-Leitner and Moshe Segal.
A lien is a claim against an asset that allows a person to keep the property of a person who owes them money until it has been paid.
The land involved is a 2.7 dunam (0.675 acre) plot, most of which is located inside the cemetery on the Mount of Olives, which Arafat inherited. Arafat’s estate owns less than half of a percent of the plot, which has not been divided up among its numerous owners. However, the judge ruled that legally it was possible to put a temporary freeze on the entire plot.
“The defendant is not blessed with many exposed assets,” states the suit. “As opposed to an ordinary defendant, whose assets can be exposed in various registries, official databases or through a routine investigative procedure, the assets of the defendant are not registered in open databases accessible to the plaintiffs. They are registered, if at all, in the registries of the Palestinian Authority that the plaintiffs have no access to, in its territory, and their location is also in areas that it is doubtful that the plaintiffs have the possibility of reaching.” — From Shurat HaDin
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Magen David Adom leads local mass casualty drill in Santiago, Chile
Magen David Adom (MDA) participated in a mass casualty drill in Santiago, Chile, last month that involved approximately 100 local emergency responders.
The drill was initiated by Israel’s Ambassador to Chile Eldad Hayat and his deputy Yonatan Bar-El. It involved the evacuation of a 15 story municipal building and brought out representatives of 10 police and ambulance jurisdictions as well as representatives of Chile’s Red Cross, and volunteer psychologists.
The drill was preceded by two days of workshops and followed by a day of evaluations. — From Magen David Adom
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Conference of Mayors, American Jewish Committee to coordinate visits to Israel
The U.S. Conference of Mayors and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) are partnering to further enhance U.S.-Israel ties at the municipal level across the country.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by AJC CEO David Harris and U.S. Conference of Mayors leaders, including Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin, President; Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director; and Mayor Nan Whaley, Chair of the International Relations Committee.
The highlight of the MOU is an annual delegation to Israel. Participating mayors will be chosen by the Conference and AJC’s Project Interchange.
“Through our 22 regional offices across the U.S., we’ve worked closely over decades with mayors and other municipal leaders on many issues of shared concern,” said Harris. “Mayors are often on the front lines in seeking pragmatic solutions to a range of challenges. These visits to Israel will be designed for mayors to meet their counterparts in Israel, who are often engaged in the same kind of problem-solving, often with innovative and cost-efficient answers.
The MOU signing took place during the mayors’ annual meeting, in Washington, D.C.
In May 2018 and September 2017, bipartisan delegations of U.S. mayors, organized by AJC Project Interchange, visited Israel. They were the latest mayoral visits to Israel with AJC. The new MOU formalizes and expands this cooperation. — From American Jewish Committee
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Preceding items culled from news releases. Please send yours to editor@sdjewishworld.com