ADL Charges Japanese Airline, Two Automobile Firms Bow to Arab Boycott of Israel

Japan Air Lines and two of Japan’s leading automobile manufacturers were charged today with submitting to the Arab boycott of Israel. The charges and the information on which they are based, were detailed by Arnold Forster, chairman of the anti-boycott committee of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Mr. Forster is general counsel of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, a constituent of the President’s Conference. He named, in addition to Japan Air Lines, the Toyota Motor Co. and the Nissan Motor Co. which produces Datsun vehicles. Nissan ranks second among Japan’s industrial concerns and at the beginning of this year ranked fourth in foreign car sales in the United States. Toyota ranks second in the U.S. foreign car market and has about 800 dealers in this country. There are 600 Datsun dealers in the U.S. But both motor companies have consistently refused franchises and dealerships in Israel, a country that imports more motor vehicles than any single Arab state. Mr. Forster charged that both have capitulated to Arab boycott pressures. Mr. Forster reported that he and Lawrence Peirez, chairman of ADL’s fact-finding departments, had been told by Seisi Kato, executive vice-president of Toyota, that the automobile company had considered doing business with Israel but that it trades with Egypt and “encountered boycott threats.”

Mr. Forster also reported that the Nissan Motor Company, responding to a request for an automobile dealership in Israel, told the owner of an Israeli motor sales firm in a letter dated July 9, 1969 that “We are now exporting 20,000 units a year to the Arabic countries…According to the boycott resolution…the transaction with your country will surely create the total ban of our export to the Arabic countries.” The ADL counsel said that Japan Air Lines has been stalling since 1967 on a mutual air agreement with Israel. Such an agreement would provide landing rights in Japan for Israel’s El Al Airlines and the same rights in Israel for JAL whose Europe-Far East flights pass over the Mideast. Mr. Forster said however that JAL showed some signs of changing its position. Its representatives went to Israel for talks last month and an Israeli delegation is scheduled to meet with Japanese air authorities in Tokyo July 20. The ADL counsel said the big Japanese firms had surrendered to Arab boycott demands in part because the Japanese Government, despite its friendly relations with Israel, failed to adopt a policy that would protect Japanese industry from Arab pressures. He noted that defiance of the Arab boycott in other nations is relatively widespread because their governments took firm opposing measures. He said that many Japanese firms have in fact ignored the boycott and continue to trade with Arab countries while also doing business with Israel.