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Title: A Texas Elementary School Speech Pathologist Refused to Sign a Pro-Israel Oath, Now Mandatory in Many States — So She Lost Her Job
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URL Source: https://theintercept.com/2018/12/17/israel-texas-anti-bds-law/
Published: Dec 17, 2018
Author: Glenn Greenwald
Post Date: 2018-12-17 09:27:35 by Ada
Keywords: None
Views: 1220
Comments: 11
A children’s speech pathologist who has worked for the last nine years with developmentally disabled, autistic, and speech-impaired elementary school students in Austin, Texas, has been told she can no longer work with the public school district after she refused to sign an oath vowing that she “does not” and “will not” engage in a boycott of Israel or “otherwise tak[e] any action that is intended to inflict economic harm” on that foreign nation. A lawsuit on her behalf was filed early Monday morning in a federal court in the Western District of Texas alleging a violation of her First Amendment right of free speech. The child language specialist, Bahia Amawi, is a U.S. citizen who received a master’s degree in speech pathology in 1999 and, since then, has specialized in evaluations for young children with language difficulties (see video below). Amawi was born in Austria and has lived in the U.S. for the last 30 years, fluently speaks three languages (English, German, and Arabic), and has four U.S.-born American children of her own. Amawi began working in 2009 on a contract basis with the Pflugerville Independent School District, which includes Austin, to provide assessments and support for school children from the county’s growing Arabic-speaking immigrant community. The children with whom she has worked span the ages of 3 to 11. Ever since her work for the school district began in 2009, her contract was renewed each year with no controversy or problem. But this year, all of that changed. On August 13, the school district once again offered to extend her contract for another year by sending her essentially the same contract and set of certifications she has received and signed at the end of each year since 2009. She was prepared to sign her contract renewal until she noticed one new, and extremely significant, addition: a certification she was required to sign pledging that she “does not currently boycott Israel,” that she “will not boycott Israel during the term of the contract,” and that she shall refrain from any action “that is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations with Israel, or with a person or entity doing business in Israeli or in an Israel-controlled territory.” The language of the affirmation Amawi was told she must sign reads like Orwellian — or McCarthyite — self-parody, the classic political loyalty oath that every American should instinctively shudder upon reading: isa-1544881457 That language would bar Amawi not only from refraining from buying goods from companies located within Israel, but also from any Israeli companies operating in the occupied West Bank (“an Israeli-controlled territory”). The oath given to Amawi would also likely prohibit her even from advocating such a boycott given that such speech could be seen as “intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations with Israel.” Whatever one’s own views are, boycotting Israel to stop its occupation is a global political movement modeled on the 1980s boycott aimed at South Africa that helped end that country’s system of racial apartheid. It has become so mainstream that two newly elected members of the U.S. Congress explicitly support it, while boycotting Israeli companies in the occupied territories has long been advocated in mainstream venues by Jewish Zionist groups such as Peace Now and the Jewish American Zionist writer Peter Beinart. This required certification about Israel was the only one in the contract sent to Amawi that pertained to political opinions and activism. There were no similar clauses relating to children (such as a vow not to advocate for pedophiles or child abusers), nor were there any required political oaths that pertained to the country of which she is a citizen and where she lives and works: the United States. In order to obtain contracts in Texas, then, a citizen is free to denounce and work against the United States, to advocate for causes that directly harm American children, and even to support a boycott of particular U.S. states, such as was done in 2017 to North Carolina in protest of its anti-LGBT law. In order to continue to work, Amawi would be perfectly free to engage in any political activism against her own country, participate in an economic boycott of any state or city within the U.S., or work against the policies of any other government in the world — except Israel. That’s one extraordinary aspect of this story: The sole political affirmation Texans like Amawi are required to sign in order to work with the school district’s children is one designed to protect not the United States or the children of Texas, but the economic interests of Israel. As Amawi put it to The Intercept: “It’s baffling that they can throw this down our throats, and decide to protect another country’s economy versus protecting our constitutional rights.” Amawi concluded that she could not truthfully or in good faith sign the oath because, in conjunction with her family, she has made the household decision to refrain from purchasing goods from Israeli companies in support of the global boycott to end Israel’s decades-long occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Amawi, as the mother of four young children and a professional speech pathologist, is not a leader of any political movements: She has simply made the consumer choice to support the boycott by avoiding the purchase of products from Israeli companies in Israel or the occupied West Bank. She also occasionally participates in peaceful activism in defense of Palestinian self-determination that includes advocacy of the global boycott to end the Israeli occupation. Watch the Intercept’s three-minute video of Amawi, as she tells her own story, here:
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#1. To: Ada (#0)
The should investigate the school district for collusion with Israel.
They should follow the Money and Name Exactly who caused this to be included and give the location of their residence.
False. P'ville is a suburb of Austin and they, nor their ISD, have anything to do with Austin except proximity. “The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
Law is statewide.
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
JewSA! JewSA! JewSA! So called Joos leading so called Christians around with a bit. Someone needs to fund her lawsuit.
The Truth of 911 Shall Set You Free From The Lie
The law is state wide. I was out there protesting it with the old lady and my boy back when Texas legislature was considering passing this illegal treaty agreement with israel. Picutres and the thread were posted here by Artisan i belive. So glad someone is finnally challenging this. The teacjer will win and hopefully this unconstitutional law will be struck from texas laws. States are constitutionally prohibited from entering into treaties with forign nations. International treaties are reserved domain of the federal government. That is why the israeli never tried to get this bullshit done on a federal level. Instead they corrupt nation of israel has propasitioned state after state to pass this no boycotting isreal bullshit on state levels. They know they are overtly attempting to circumvent our law. We all know that . Almost every state has anti boycott isreal laws now...its just a cockslap in the face to constitutionalist patriots. So glad someone is finally taking this sick cow out to pasture. May isreal enjoy only the waters from palistinian wells. ______________________________________ Suspect all media / resist bad propaganda/Learn NLP everyday everyway ;) If you don't control your mind someone else will.
Thanks, and bump it
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
Exactly. And it is an uspurtion of our rule of law. I dont care how much they cry anti semitism and hate speech. They campaigned to usurp our consritution. By deception they wage war, WELL GUESS WHAT GEMS. We the people reject your attempt to take over our government . Get rekt.
______________________________________ Suspect all media / resist bad propaganda/Learn NLP everyday everyway ;) If you don't control your mind someone else will.
Heck yeah buddy
______________________________________ Suspect all media / resist bad propaganda/Learn NLP everyday everyway ;) If you don't control your mind someone else will.
"After tomorrow those SOB's will never embarrass me again. That’s not a threat. That’s a promise.” – LBJ to his mistress Madeleine Brown on the eve of JFK assassination 
#2. To: Ada (#0)
#3. To: Ada (#0)
...the Pflugerville Independent School District, which includes Austin...
#4. To: FormerLurker (#1)
#5. To: Ada (#4)
more on the stupidity, and unconstitutionality, here - this will be/ should be hammered whenever it goes to court ~
#6. To: Ada (#0)
"Define yourself as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion."—Brennan Manning
#7. To: Rotara, Ada (#6)
#8. To: FormerLurker (#1)
#9. To: titorite (#8)
#10. To: Ada (#4)
#11. To: Lod (#9)
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