PFLUGERVILLE, Texas -- A federal judge held a hearing Friday for two lawsuits challenging Texas law that requires contractors to certify they do not boycott Israel.

  • Hearing on lawsuits challengeing Texas law held Friday
  • Plaintiffs claim law violates First Amendment
  • Federal judge to make ruling 

A decision has not yet been made in either lawsuit.

Bahia Amawi sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Pflugerville Independent School District in December. She says she was given an addendum to her contract in August 2018 which included the pro-Israel pledge. She was let go in October.

"I feel like something is missing from me, a part of me is missing," Amawi said. 

PREVIOUS: Ken Paxton, Texas School Districts Sued Over Anti-Boycott of Israel Law

Texas Gov. Greg Abbot signed the anti-boycott bill in 2017. It prohibits the state from doing business with contractors that boycott Israel. Amawi, who is an American citizen of Palestinian descent, says she didn't understand why she would need to sign the pledge to do her job.

"It's clear that this is a censorship bill. It's something that affects everyday people - people who are doing, going about their business and all of a sudden their life stops," said Amawi.

Amawi's attorney believes the law is a violation of the First Amendment.

"Americans, from the beginning, have used boycott to express on the most important issues. That's what this law is trying to deprive Bahia and others of," said Gadeir Abbas with the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The other lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. The ACLU is representing four Texans who say they lost opportunities for not signing or signed "at the expense" of their First Amendment rights.​

Paxton's office released the following statement about the hearing:

“In 2017, Texas decided to withhold the privilege of receiving taxpayer dollars from companies that engage in discriminatory boycotts of Israel. The law has no application to personal economic decisions but only to companies seeking to do business with the state. Our office demonstrated to the court that Texans – like the citizens of dozens of other states that have enacted similar laws – have every right to demand that their government does not do business with companies that engage in unjust discrimination.” - Marc Rylander, Director of Communications

The next step is for a federal judge to make a ruling. There is no date set on when the decision may be made.