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Comment by s1artibartfast | Hacker News Reader

Things are arguably worse in the USA. 35 states have laws on the books preventing personal boycott of Israeli products. In some states employees can and are fired for choosing not buy products in their personal life.

It is really disgusting. Imagine laws requiring the firing teachers because they choose not buy Israeli shampoo or whatever at home.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-BDS_laws#Anti-BDS_laws_in...

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> Imagine laws requiring the firing teachers because they choose not buy Israeli shampoo or whatever at home.

By all means, do not imagine laws in this case.

Read about a law, a lawsuit, and an amended law that have already been recorded in our history:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-BDS_laws#Koontz_v._Watson

yeah, it truly is disgusting. especially Koontz v. watson.

Kansas lawmakers amended the law so that it no longer applied to individuals like the plaintiff, rendering the case moot, but leaving the underlying constitutional issues unresolved.

I agree that the laws are over-reaching, but not to the extent that you suggest. The Wikipedia article that you cite notes that these laws take one of two forms:

> (1) contract-focused laws that condition the receipt of government contracts on an entity certifying that it is not boycotting and will not boycott Israel; and (2) investment-focused laws that mandate public investment funds to divest from entities involved in boycotts of Israel.

Neither of these are bans on "personal boycotts". They are penalizing corporations which boycott Israel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-BDS_laws#cite_note-6

look at the case law section. There are plenty of real people, mostly teachers, fired from their jobs because they refuse to certify.

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