Germany to Consider Anti-boycott Bill, Foreign Minister Tells Jewish Leader

Germany soon plans to enact legislation that would bar firms from complying with the Arab League economic boycott of Israel, Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher told a Jewish organizational leader here.

Genscher, who was honored Friday by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, told the league’s national director, Abraham Foxman, that such legislation would be introduced within the next several weeks.

If the bill is adopted, Germany would become the first European country to adopt tough legislation outlawing compliance with the 43-year-old boycott, Foxman said. He said France and the Netherlands have measures discouraging boycott compliance, but they are not seriously enforced.

According to Foxman, Germany hopes to set an example for other countries contemplating anti-boycott legislation. He said Germany may be seeking to create a role for itself in the Middle East peace process. The proposed legislation is viewed as a confidence-building measure aimed at Israel and the Jewish community.

Foxman said ADL had been seeking a statement on the issue from the 12-nation European Community, but found that it is “difficult to get 12 countries to agree on it.”

The German foreign minister was presented at a luncheon Friday with ADL’s Distinguished Statesman Award. Upon receiving the honor, Genscher gave a warm speech, filled with hope for the future of the recently united Germany.

“We Germans regard the security of Israel and its right to exist most particularly as a moral imperative for united Germany,” he said.

Genscher, who is the longest-serving foreign minister in postwar Germany, called for the world to focus attention on human rights.

“After all that happened between 1933 and 1945,” he said, “we Germans will everywhere and at all times seek to ensure that human rights and human dignity are respected, not only in our country but all over the globe.”