Winehole23
12-17-2018, 11:34 PM
“anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies, and we will not tolerate such actions against an important ally.” -- Greg Abbott
Bahia Amawi had been working as an independently contracted speech pathologist in Pflugerville elementary schools for nine years when she was notified in August ofa new job requirement. She could still work at identifying students' speech delays and disorders. But now, she also had to promise that she wouldn't boycott Israel.
That requirement may have seemed like it didn't have much to do with speech pathology. But the new clause in her contract was a result of a long-debated anti-boycott, divestments, and sanctions bill (https://www.tribtalk.org/2017/02/03/texas-should-challenge-the-movement-to-boycott-israel/) that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed in May 2017 (https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/anti-israel-policies-are-anti-texas-policies), effectively making it illegal for Texas government entities to contract with companies that boycott Israel.
“My first reaction was shock,” Amawi said. “Why is the government restricting me from boycotting a certain entity?”
Amawi, who conducts bilingual and early childhood evaluations as the district's only certified Arabic-speaking speech pathologist, refused to sign the addendum. As a result, she was informed that she couldn't be paid, and her contract was terminated on Sept. 17. On Monday, she filed a federal lawsuit against the Pflugerville district and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, saying the law violated Amawi’s First Amendment rights.
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/12/17/Bahia-Amawi-pflugerville-israel-texas/
Bahia Amawi had been working as an independently contracted speech pathologist in Pflugerville elementary schools for nine years when she was notified in August ofa new job requirement. She could still work at identifying students' speech delays and disorders. But now, she also had to promise that she wouldn't boycott Israel.
That requirement may have seemed like it didn't have much to do with speech pathology. But the new clause in her contract was a result of a long-debated anti-boycott, divestments, and sanctions bill (https://www.tribtalk.org/2017/02/03/texas-should-challenge-the-movement-to-boycott-israel/) that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed in May 2017 (https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/anti-israel-policies-are-anti-texas-policies), effectively making it illegal for Texas government entities to contract with companies that boycott Israel.
“My first reaction was shock,” Amawi said. “Why is the government restricting me from boycotting a certain entity?”
Amawi, who conducts bilingual and early childhood evaluations as the district's only certified Arabic-speaking speech pathologist, refused to sign the addendum. As a result, she was informed that she couldn't be paid, and her contract was terminated on Sept. 17. On Monday, she filed a federal lawsuit against the Pflugerville district and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, saying the law violated Amawi’s First Amendment rights.
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/12/17/Bahia-Amawi-pflugerville-israel-texas/