Economic and political boycotts of Israel

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Boycotts of Israel are a series of economic and political campaigns against the State of Israel in the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Arab boycotts of the region's Jewish population began decades before Israel's founding as a state and include an often-violated official boycott by the Arab League. More recently, similar boycotts have been proposed outside the Arab world and the Muslim world, mostly by left-wing organizations in the west. These boycotts comprise economic measures such as divestment; a consumer boycott of Israeli products or businesses that operate in Israel; a proposed academic boycott of Israeli universities and scholars; and a proposed boycott of Israeli cultural institutions or Israeli sport venues.

Under 1977 amendments to the Export Administration Act (EAA) it is illegal for US citizens to participate in boycotts imposed by foreign countries that are unsanctioned by the United States, including the Arab League boycott of Israel.^[1]

1 Arab League boycott
2 Recent economic boycotts
3 Academic boycotts
4 United States Office of Antiboycott Compliance
5 Support
6 Criticism
7 References
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Arab League boycott

The Arab economic boycott of Israel is a systematic effort by Arab states to isolate Israel economically.

[edit] Overview and origin

Arab boycotts of Jewish interests started as early as 1921 ^[2] ^[3], 27 years before the establishment of Israel. The original boycott forswore with any Jewish owned business operating in the British Mandate of Palestine.

Aiming to isolate the Jewish community economically, a formal boycott was declared by the newly formed Arab League Council on December 2, 1945: "Jewish products and manufactured goods shall be considered undesirable to the Arab countries." All Arab "institutions, organizations, merchants, commission agents and individuals" were called upon "to refuse to deal in, distribute, or consume Zionist products or manufactured goods." ^[4]

Officially, the boycott covers three areas:

Products and services which originate in Israel (referred to as the primary boycott and still enforced in many Arab states)
Businesses that operate in Israel (the secondary boycott)
Businesses which have relationships with other businesses which operate in Israel (the tertiary boycott)

At one point the boycott was observed by the entire Arab League; today only Lebanon and Syria adhere to it stringently. The boycott list was maintained by a special office within the Arab League called the "Central Boycott Office." Each participating Arab League state had its own national office. The Central Boycott Office has always been headquartered in Damascus, although there was no meeting of the coordinating committee from 1993 to 2002 due to the fact there was no quorum.

In addition to goods and businesses, many Arab states refused to allow entrance to anyone who had an Israeli stamp on his or her passport.

[edit] Economic effects

Because of the boycott, certain products which were ubiquitous elsewhere in the world, such as Coca-Cola were not to be found in the Arab world. A similar situation existed in Israel as in the case of Pepsi products, which were non-existent in Israel until the boycott began waning in the late 1980s.

Although Israel's economy has performed relatively well since 1948, achieving a higher GDP per capita than that all Arab countries but oil-rich United Arab Emirates and Qatar, the boycott nevertheless has undoubtedly harmed Israel. The Israeli Chamber of Commerce estimates that with the boycott Israeli exports are 10 percent less than they would be without the boycott and investment in Israel likewise 10 percent lower. Trade with Japan and South Korea was particularly affected.

Despite the boycott, Israeli goods often do make it to Arab markets in boycott countries. Typically, the Israeli goods are sent to a third country and then reshipped to an Arab state. Cyprus is the greatest transhipment point. In 2001, Cyprus imported $164 million in Israeli goods, but only exported $ 27.5 million to Israel. It is probable that the bulk of that enormous Israeli trade surplus ends up in the Arab world. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Weakening of the boycott

In 1977 the Congress of the United States passed a law that then-President Jimmy Carter signed, and according to which fines would be levied on American companies which cooperate with the boycott. For the surveillance after the implementation of this law, an office called the "Office of Antiboycott Compliance" was opened in the United States as part of the American trade ministry. Despite the fines, there were some American companies (like McDonald's) which preferred to pay the fine than break the boycott and endanger loss of business with the Arab world.

Egypt was the first nation to abandon the boycott, doing so in 1980. Jordan followed in 1995. The Palestinian Authority likewise agreed not to abide by the boycott in 1995. In 1994 several of the Gulf States abandoned the secondary and tertiary boycotts. Today, most Arab states, Syria being the exception, no longer attempt to enforce the secondary or tertiary boycotts. As the boycott was relaxed (or rather, not as stringently enforced) starting in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many companies which previously stayed out of the Israeli market had entered it, e.g. McDonald's, Toyota, Nestlé, etc.

Though not an Arab state, Iran attempts to enforce the secondary and tertiary boycotts.

[edit] Recent events

During the al-Aqsa Intifada there were calls for a renewal of the boycott and the boycott council finally met again. However, these meetings came to nothing. In 2005, shortly after the Gaza disengagement, Bahrain announced that it was completely withdrawing from the boycott. The withdrawal of Bahrain from the boycott was in order to ease the approval of free trade agreements between Bahrain and the United States. The decision to leave the boycott sparked harsh criticism of this move by the Bahraini public, and on October 11 the Bahraini parliament voted for a non-binding resolution asking for Bahrain to return to participating in the boycott.

In 2005, Saudi Arabia announced the end of its ban on Israeli goods and services, mostly due to its application to the World Trade Organization, where it is illegal for one member country to ban trade with another. However, as of summer 2006 Saudi boycott was not cancelled. ^[5] ^[6] ^[7]

On May 16, 2006, after four-day conference of the Arab Boycott Bureau in Damascus, Syria, a "source close to the conference" reported that "the majority of Arab countries are evading the boycott, notably the Gulf states and especially Saudi Arabia. ... The boycott deteriorated a lot, regressed and even almost collapsed... We should not lie on each other, because the boycott is quasi... paralyzed." ^[8]

However, reporting by the Jerusalem Post has found that many countries and entities are still enforcing aspects of the boycott, including the UAE and its Dubai Ports World firm, ^[9] and the Sultanate of Oman. ^[10] Both entities are currently negotiating trade agreements with the United States.

In November, 2006, The Jerusalem Postreported that "According to material compiled by the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, ... Arab states made a total of 201 boycott-related requests in all of 2005, or fewer than 17 per month. By contrast, US firms have reported receiving 120 boycott-related requests in just the first six months of this year, for an average of 20 per month, marking an increase of nearly 20 percent over the rate recorded last year." and "it appears that at least seven Arab countries, including ostensible US allies such as Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Iraq, are enforcing the terms of the Arab boycott more energetically this year than in 2005. At the top of the list is the UAE, which made 40 boycott-related requests during the period of January to June, followed by Syria, with 20."^[11]

[edit] Recent economic boycotts

In July 2004, the General Synod of the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) voted to "initiate a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel." ^[12] On June 19, 2006, the Committee on Peacemaking and International Issues of the PCUSA adopted a compromise resolution that calls for the Church to invest only in "peaceful pursuits" in Israel and Palestine. The new resolution does not include the word "divestment." ^[13]

In May 2006, the Ontario section of the Canadian Union of Public Employees approved a resolution to "support the international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until that state recognizes the Palestinian right to self-determination" and to protest the Israeli West Bank barrier. ^[14] ^[15] ^[16]

The Congress of South African Trade Unions published a letter expressing their support for the CUPE boycott of Israel. ^[17]

The Toronto assembly of the United Church of Canada supports CUPE's boycott. In 2003, the Toronto assembly voted to boycott goods produced by Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.^[18]

The Church of England synod has voted for disinvestment from Israel, which was criticised by George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury as "inappropriate, offensive and highly damaging".^[19]

[edit] Academic boycotts

Main article: Academic boycotts of Israel

In May 2006, Britain's lecturers' union, the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, voted to support an academic boycott against Israel. ^[20] The ban expired four days later when a merger between the lecturer's union and a larger union came into effect. ^[21]

A prominent Palestinian academic, president of Al-Quds University, Sari Nusseibeh, has argued against the boycott telling Associated Press "If we are to look at Israeli society, it is within the academic community that we've had the most progressive pro-peace views and views that have come out in favor of seeing us as equals... If you want to punish any sector, this is the last one to approach." He acknowledges, however, that his view is a minority one amongst Palestinian academics. ^[22] ^[23]

[edit] United States Office of Antiboycott Compliance

The United States adopted two laws that seek to counteract the participation of U.S. citizens in other nation's economic boycotts or embargoes. These "antiboycott" laws are the 1977 amendments to the Export Administration Act (EAA) and the Ribicoff Amendment to the 1976 Tax Reform Act (TRA). The antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) apply to all "U.S. persons," defined to include individuals and companies located in the United States and their foreign affiliates, and prohibit them to participate in unsanctioned boycotts against other nations, punishable by fines of up to $50,000 or five times the value of the exports involved or jail term of up to 5 years.^[24]

Conduct that may be penalized under the TRA and/or prohibited under the EAR includes:

Agreements to refuse or actual refusal to do business with or in Israel or with blacklisted companies.
Agreements to discriminate or actual discrimination against other persons based on race, religion, sex, national origin or nationality.
Agreements to furnish or actual furnishing of information about business relationships with or in Israel or with blacklisted companies.
Agreements to furnish or actual furnishing of information about the race, religion, sex, or national origin of another person.

[edit] Support

Anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu has called on the international community to treat Israel as it treated apartheid South Africa and supports the divestment campaign against Israel. ^[25]

Arch-bishop K. G. Hammar, ambassador Carl Tham and a list of 71 others have supported a boycott of products from the occupied areas.^[26]^[27]^[28]

[edit] Criticism

Critics of the proposals argue that making unilateral demands on Israel will not promote negotiation and just peace ^[29] ^[30] ^[31] ^[32]. Some note similarities with the Nazi boycotts of Jews of the 1930s ^[33] and claim this is a form of anti-Semitism. However, a number of Jewish organizations and individuals participate in current boycotts against Israel with an aim to stop the Occupations of the West Bank, Gaza and Golan Heights. Prominent Jewish Israeli organizations leading boycott efforts include Gush Shalom^[34] and Matzpun^[35].