Secretary of Commerce Rogers Morton is telling American businessmen that they do not have to stop trading with Israel in order to sell to Arab countries. He coupled this statement with 15 “specific grounds” on which Arab countries boycott companies engaged with Israeli markets but did not mention discrimination against American companies with Jewish principals for which he continues under fire in Congress.
In an editorial in the current issue of “Commerce Today,” a bi-weekly publication of the Department of Commerce, Morton wrote “boycott sanctions are not applied by Arab countries against U.S. or other foreign firms which engage in routine commercial trade with Israel” and “the astute businessman aggressively looks for commercial opportunities in Israel as well as with her newly wealthy neighbors.” He said Israel represents “a billion dollar market” for American goods and services.”
Continuing, Morton stated: “Firms are boycotted by Arab countries on the more specific grounds of having a main or branch factory, joint venture, or assembly plant in Israel; holding shares in Israeli companies; licensing their technology patents or trade names to Israeli firms; providing certain technical and consultative services to Israel; exploring for natural resources in Israel; acting as agent or principal importer in the U.S. for Israeli products; or selling strategic equipment and materials directly to 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.
