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Syrian group renews boycott of companies trading with Israel
By DPA Damascus - The Central Boycott Office in Syria moved Monday to renew its boycott of companies that do business with Israel in retaliation for Israel's actions against the Palestinians. The once-influential Damascus office was set up in 1951 and was funded by the Arab League to track down foreigners who do business with Israel and then ban them from operating in the Arab world. The head of the Central Boycott Office, Ahmed Khazaa, said that the meeting in Damascus was being convened at a time when the U.S.- British aggression on Iraq and the escalating Israeli repression of the Palestinian people was mounting. The meeting, with representatives from 15 Arab states, will focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict and methods to submit financial aid to the Palestinian uprising. It would also consider blacklisting new companies that do business with Israel. The participants are Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Algeria, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Morocco, Libya, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, Palestine, Oman and Somalia. Tunisia, Iraq, Comoros, and Djibouti were absent. Mauritania, Egypt and Jordan, who are bound by peace accords with Israel, stayed away. He indicated that Israel was still denying Palestinians their rights and was continuing to commit massacres against them, adding that it was incumbent on the Arabs to support the Palestinians through the boycott. Mohammed al-Ajami, head of the Syrian regional office for the boycott of Israel, said the boycott was the "only legitimate means to rein in the Israeli aggressor". He stressed the economic boycott of Israel would remain active until the liberation of all occupied Arab lands and the restoration of all Palestinian rights, including the right of establishing an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. The boycott office once listed more than 8,500 companies and people, including Coca-Cola, the Ford Motor Co. and Elizabeth Taylor's movies - the actress had converted to Judaism and was seen as pro-Israel. For many years, American cars were scarce on Arab streets and the red-and-white Coke billboards that now dominate skylines in Cairo and Beirut were nowhere to be seen. Arabs were asked to boycott all Israeli goods as well as companies that did business with Israel. The United States banned its companies from complying with the boycott. The boycott's influence waned as Egypt and Jordan made peace with Israel, the Palestinians embarked on a now faltering peace process and several Gulf states started ignoring the blacklist. |