Israel – Arab Boycott (1976)

Arab Boycott (1976)

The Arab boycott against Israel is not limited to that country alone, but extends to and discriminates against business firms and citizens who trade with Israel. Many American business firms comply with Arab boycott demands in direct contravention of American anti-discrimination laws and the United States policy against restrictive trade practices or boycotts by foreign countries against nations friendly to the United States.

Therefore Women’s League for Conservative Judaism calls upon:

  • The Federal Government for the vigorous enforcement of existing Federal laws, which are administrative and legal weapons against Arab economic warfare and which have been largely neglected by Federal regulatory agencies;
  • The Congress to enact legislation that would impose severe civil and criminal penalties in connection with the two major aspects of the Arab economic warfare – discrimination and boycott;
  • The individual states to extend their existing anti-discrimination statutes to include that discrimination which results from compliance with the Arab boycott;
  • Its Sisterhoods to:
  • Inform and heighten the sensitivities of businessmen, employees, executives and directors of banks and corporations, stock brokers, and academicians to this form of economic warfare waged by Arab nations;
  • Publicize and participate in the “Operation Stockholder” campaign of the American Jewish Congress.

Arab Boycott (1960)

The Arab States continue their relentless economic warfare against Israel, defying the United Nations, international law and world opinion. They trust aside all overtures by Israel to negotiate a peace. The United Arab Republic uses the Suez Canal as a weapon in its economic war, by refusing Israel’s ships freedom to ply the Suez Canal. The Arab States conduct an embargo of ships of all nations who carry or have carried cargo to or from Israel. They also use economic pressure through boycott, on private firms to stop trading with Israel or Israel companies; this boycott has interfered with world commerce.

National Women’s League deplores the submission of all the United States government to the Arab boycott of ships touching at Israel ports-ships which are under government contract to transport fuels for U.S. military use and in the transportation of surplus commodities even to beneficiary Arab States.

We believe that the deep desire of our government to contribute to the peaceful stabilization of the Middle East is hindered by our government’s passive acceptance of the boycott and blockade which rather encourages Arab hopes for destroying Israel and heightens the hospitality in the Middle East.

The recent pledges by the State Department however, that it will undertake discussions aimed at ending the Arab boycott of Americans, are encouraging. We are also heartened by the action taken by the United States Congress, in amending the Mutual Security Act of 1960, authorizing the President to deny assistance under the Act, to States that practice economic warfare against other beneficiary States. We note with satisfaction that the 1960 Republican and Democratic party platforms were explicit on the need for a firm policy to resist aggression and promote negotiated peace in the Middle East. Both parties urged an “end to boycotts and blockades; the unrestricted use of the Suez Canal by all nations.”

We therefore call upon the President and the 87th Congress to:

  1. Give practical and active support to the rights of American shippers to trade freely in ports of all nations;
  2. Assure the right of American shippers to deal with their own government in respect to the transportation of American military supplies and surplus commodities without interference by Arab governments.

We urge all American commercial and business firms to resist the Arab boycott by every legal means.

We reaffirm our pledge to expose the evils of the Arab boycott against Americans, and to disseminate information about firms which yield to the Arab boycott.