Business firms which withdraw from Israel operations under Arab boycott pressure may suffer economic consequences for such actions, Meir Grossman, head of the Jewish Agency Department of External Affairs, asserted today at a press conference. He announced the formation of a committee to coordinate and direct “Jewish reaction” against the “worldwide Arab conspiracy against Israel.”
Emphasizing that neither the Israel Government nor the Jewish Agency has ever declared a counter-boycott, he said it was “only natural that Jews should look askance” at firms which submit to pro-Arab boycott. Various Jewish organizations, acting through national committees in various countries, will combat the boycott in cooperation with the World Jewish Congress and other similar organizations and expose the dangers arising from the “Nazi and anti-Semitic character” of the boycott, he stated.
Citing the decision of the Shell Company and British Petroleum to end sales operations in Israel, following the withdrawal of two American oil companies, Standard and Mobiloil, he asserted that “the impression is unavoidable that the Anglo-American companies have ganged upon on Israel in yielding to Arab threats.”
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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.