A spokesman for the Coca-Cola Export Corporation said yesterday the company had no comment on a threat by the Arab League to boycott Coca-Cola operations in Arab countries if the firm proceeded with plans for a franchise operation in Israel.
The threat was made in Damascus by Mohammed Marjouh, commissioner-general of the Arab Boycott League office. He said the Arab world would be ordered to close the many Coca-Cola plants in Arab countries in three months if the company granted a concession to Israel. The company announced last month it had granted a franchise for an Israeli operation to Abraham Feinberg, president of the Israel Bond Organization, and a group of investors.
The Arab League official also said that the League would ask other Islamic countries, such as Pakistan and Indonesia, to stop buying the drink if the Israelis received access to it. Coca-Cola has bottling plants in all Arab states except Syria and Jordan. Mr. Feinberg and his associates received the franchise last April 15, after charges had been made that the company had bowed to the Arab boycott in rejecting a franchise application from an Israeli soft drink manufacturer.
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