Trans European Airways (TEA), the Belgian charter company that airlifted about 7,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel since last November, is facing an Arab boycott and possible blacklisting by the Arab League.
The airlift, which carried the refugees from Khartoum, Sudan to Tel Aviv, with an obligatory stopover at Brussels, was terminated earlier this month because of the worldwide publicity generated by premature disclosure of the operation in Israel. Diplomatic sources here said a boycott of the airline was recommended at a meeting of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brussels this week.
According to the sources, the Arab League headquartered in Tunis, has been asked to study TEA’s contribution to the transportation of Ethiopian Jews to Israel, which the Israelis had code-named “Operation Moses.” Well informed sources here said TEA’s founder and manager, George Gutelman, a 51-year-old Belgian Jew, was summoned to the meeting of Arab Ambassadors to explain his company’s role. He refused to appear.
The sources said that TEA and its technical subsidiary, TEAMCO, could be placed on the Arab blacklist as are other Belgian companies doing business with Israel. The Israelis selected TEA for the airlift because of its connections in Sudan where most of the Ethiopian Jews were encamped after escaping from their country. Previously, TEA did a flourishing business carrying Sudanese Moslems on their annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
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