Kodak to Reaffirm Opposition to Arab Boycott at Its Annual Meeting

The Eastman Kodak Company, in response to actions brought by the American Jewish Congress, has announced that it, will “reaffirm” its opposition to the Arab boycott at its annual meeting on April 27.

The giant camera and film corporation had faced a lawsuit brought by Mr. and Mrs. Martin K. Balter–Kodak shareholders and members of the American Jewish Congress–for its initial refusal to submit a resolution to stockholders requiring disclosure of any involvement in the Arab boycott.

The suit was filed as part of a massive nation-wide campaign, sponsored by the AJCongress, using stockholder action against the Arab boycott. It sought to have Kodak’s annual meeting postponed until the resolution was restored to the agenda for consideration. Faced with the possible postponement of its annual meeting. Kodak agreed to reaffirm its opposition to the boycott. The suit was then withdrawn.

FOLLOWED AN OPINION BY SEC

Will Maslow, general counsel to the AJCongress, and attorney for the stockholders, said that the suit was filed against Kodak following an opinion by the Securities and Exchange Commission that Kodak’s activities in the Arab countries and Israel constituted “too insignificant” a part of its overall business to require including the AJCongress resolution in its proxy statement to stockholders.

Although Kodak’s dealings in the Middle East are only 0.3 percent of Kodak’s business, Maslow said, they still amount to more than $15 million each year.

In response to its filing of the stockholder resolution on the Arab boycott, the AJCongress has received written assurances from 22 of the country’s largest corporations–including General Motors. Scott Paper and Xerox–that they will refuse to submit to Arab boycott demands.

Votes have already been taken at two annual shareholder meetings on the resolution. The first was International Harvester in San Francisco on March 17 where the resolution garnered more than a million votes. The second was Avco in Nashville on April 8, where the resolution received 6.7 percent of the vote and–along with the resolution at International Harvester–more than qualified for automatic consideration next year.

Meanwhile, the AJCongress announced that its sponsored stockholder resolution will be presented Tuesday at the annual shareholders meetings of Bankers Trust and Chase Manhattan, both in New York. The resolution at the Chase Manhattan meeting will be presented by Phil Baum, associate executive director of the AJCongress, who has been given the proxy for the five shares of stock held by the AJCongress. The resolution at the Bankers Trust meeting will be presented by Maslow who has been given the proxy for shares held by an AJCongress member.