Hitachi, a Japanese firm cited by the Arab League Anti-Israel Boycott Committee as being “cooperative,” denied here today any yielding to the boycott and said it was willing to do business with Israel.
Hitachi, a communications and appliance manufacturer, notified the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith that it had made a contribution last June to the Chicago Combined Jewish Appeal “as an indication of good will,” Hitachi and another Japanese firm, Matsushita Electric Corporation, were listed by the Israel Government earlier this year as having stopped trade relations with Israel under Arab pressure.
In a letter to the ADL, T. Kawada, assistant secretary of Hitachi, New York, said the firm had never had a policy of discriminating against any country, and that it was willing to do business with Israel “as in other countries, through agents or trading companies” because Hitachi does not have an office in Israel.
Matsushita, queried by the ADL, also denied submitting to the Arab boycott. Matsushita was accused of refusing to sell dishwashers to Israel. The company explained that the appliances were manufactured only for domestic use, and none of its products were exported to any country.
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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.
