A Texas Elementary School Speech Pathologist Refused to Sign a Pro-Israel Oath, Now Mandatory in Many States — so She Lost Her Job

The Intercept – by Glenn Greenwald

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 that 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.”

Read the rest here: https://theintercept.com/2018/12/17/israel-texas-anti-bds-law/

7 thoughts on “A Texas Elementary School Speech Pathologist Refused to Sign a Pro-Israel Oath, Now Mandatory in Many States — so She Lost Her Job

  1. Abbott, the governor in Texas LOVES Israel.
    Great this woman took a stand against this BS, yet at the same time I was first time informed about the Arabic influx into Austin through this article. More shipped in illegal migrants.

  2. They can stick their mandatory [oath] affirmation to israel in their ear, if they can find it, already being so far up islrael’s butt.

  3. If I was still teaching and they pulled this crap on me I would resign with a hefty “f*** You!” the school board!

    Prior to Abbot’s Zionist shillery I actually thought he wasn’t so bad. To heck with an oath to the Bill of Rights, eh Greggie boy?

  4. our local schools are already complaining about low staff numbers , too many kids per teacher even though the student numbers are down ( folks are getting smarter and not enrolling their brats in the public fool system as much)

    keep this kinda shit up.. y’all will fck yerself right out of a job, and I for one cant wait for that to happen..couldnt happen to a better bunch of pricks!

    1. Exactly. All they are doing is screwing themselves, and forcing Americans to home school. I love it! And when parents who have no choice (since both have to work full time) find out that all they are teaching in schools is loyalty to Israel… I think even some Christian Zionists I know will DISAPPROVE of that!

  5. One o’ these days, EVERY govt. or quasi-govt. employee–including paramedics, fire fighters, cops, etc.–will be forced to take an oath of loyalty to Israel. Not to the US. Not to the Bill of Rights. And sure as hell not to God! At some point, every Jew that is not Talmudic will REGRET this nonsense, for it is THEY who will bare a huge brunt over this! There is only so much a gentile will take! But keep it up, Shabbos goys! All you are doing is exposing Israel’s ownership of the US govt.! And screw you, Greg Abbott!

    And another thing–recent polls indicate that over one-third of Americans now believe Israel has way too much influence in the govt. Ten years ago, it was practically nil, poll-wise. And there is NO FREAKIN’ WAY they can stop someone from boycotting Israeli products! All anyone has to do is NOT buy products with the 729 code on them…what are they gonna do? Arrest someone buying hummus from Lebanon? Bwaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!

  6. “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.”

    How that has ANYTHING to do with education is beyond me. It’s mere freedom of speech and opinion. F**K THEM! I’ll do what I want, when I want. Who the hell are you to tell me what I can and cannot do?

    I pledge to help America, MY COUNTRY! NOT A FOREIGN COUNTRY!

    The words, “that intended to inflict economic harm” on that foreign nation.” is absolutely UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND TREASONOUS!!! That’s saying you pledge your allegiance to that country and not your own. PISS ON THEM!

    The whole damn Commie lot of them ought to be tried and hung for high treason!

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