The Arab League’s announcement, made last week, that it would boycott cigarettes made from Turkish tobacco, was defied here today by the Government Ministry of Monopoly, which has jurisdiction over the tobacco industry.
“Israel is our customer,” a spokesman for the Ministry declared, “and we feel free to sell our tobacco to any country that asks for it. Furthermore, the countries that seem to be thinking of boycotting us do not trade with us anyway.” The spokesman pointed out that Turkey is not only exporting tobacco to Israel, but is also planning a joint Israeli-Turkish cigarette factory in Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.