<p>ATLANTA &mdash; A federal judge has ruled that a Georgia law requiring some people to sign an oath involving Israel is unconstitutional.</p>
<p>A documentary filmmaker who refused to sign the oath sued the state last year, saying the law is in violation of free speech rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.</p>
<p>Requiring people who want to do business with the state to pledge that they are not engaged in a boycott of Israel is “unconstitutional compelled speech,” U.S. District Court Judge Mark H. Cohen wrote in his recent ruling.</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for the Georgia Attorney General’s office, which represented the defendants, said it was unable to comment at this time, <a href="https://www.ajc.com/education/judge-ga-law-barring-contracts-by-groups-boycotting-israel-unconstitutional/UO3WXWOHRBFUBHIX7DWGG4AEPA/">The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</a> reported. Lawyers representing the state have said previously that Georgia’s law does not infringe on the First Amendment.</p>
<p>Georgia’s law, passed in 2016, requires some people to sign an oath pledging not to boycott Israel in order to do business with the state of Georgia.</p>
<p>In her federal lawsuit, Abby Martin says she refused to sign the oath, and her scheduled appearance at a Georgia Southern University media conference was then cancelled.</p>
<p>The law is similar to others passed in recent years in more than 20 states, including Texas, Arizona, Arkansas and Maryland.</p>