Officials of an American firm specializing in the sale of Israeli imports disclosed today receipt of a letter from the Government of Kuwait warning the firm to cease doing business with Israel or face and Arab boycott.
Isadore Serot, president of the Israeli Art-Craft Importing Company, said the firm had never had any dealings with Arab states and had no intention of doing so. It was not clear how the Kuwait Government obtained the name of the Philadelphia firm.
The letter, in the form of a questionnaire, asked that after the required information was filled in, that the form be “duly signed by the competent governmental authorities,” Whether this meant Arabian or American authorities was uncertain.
The letter said that “any foreign company having certain definite relations with Israel is blacklisted in all the Arab countries. ” It added that “before any measure is taken against your company, we find it convenient to kindly request you to clarify the nature of your company’s relations with Israel. “
Jewish organizations in Philadelphia began an inquiry to learn whether any United States Government officials had been asked to sign such a “declaration” as was listed in the letter.
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.
