Neither the Israel Government nor the Jewish Agency will engage in the organization of counter-boycotts to fight Arab economic boycott of Israel and foreign firms dealing with the Jewish State, it was learned here today.
This information became available on the eve of the first meeting of an Israeli committee charged with planning a program to counteract the damaging Arab boycott. Represented on the Israeli committee, which will meet Friday, are delegates from Israeli trade, industry and agriculture, the Jewish Agency and the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
It is understood that Jewish organizations in each country will have a free hand in taking whatever steps they desire in relation to the Arab boycott or companies which bow to it. The Israeli committee will only provide factual material about the Arab blockade to any interested individuals or organizations. The Israeli committee will stress that under the guise of an “anti-Israel” boycott the Arabs are organizing anti-Jewish action which has reached such proportions that the Arab states are even prohibiting the importation of phonograph records featuring Jewish musicians.
Reports received here lately state that the British Embassy is quite perturbed by the possibility of a boycott of Shell products by American Jews irate over Shell’s decision to withdraw from its Israeli operations. It was the Shell action, capping a long series of similar withdrawals by other firms, which caused Israel to plan counter-measures to the Arab boycott.
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