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Arab League boycott of Israel
The Arab League boycott of Israel is a systematic effort by Arab League member states to isolate Israel economically in support of the Palestinians (who, like the members of the Arab League, are Arabs.) While small-scale Arab boycotts of Zionist institutions and Jewish businesses began before Israel's founding as a state, an official organized boycott was only adopted by the Arab League after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The implementation of the boycott has varied over time among member states.
Ad-hoc boycott attempts of Jewish businessesAccording to Divestment Watch, whose stated mission is "leading the fight against the Divest-from-Israel campaign", Arab boycotts of Jewish interests started as early as 1921 [1] [2], 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, on December 2, 1945, the newly formed Arab League Council declared a formal boycott: "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." [3] Organized boycott of IsraelOfficially, the Arab League boycott covers three areas:
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. Passport restrictionsIn addition to goods and businesses, many Arab states refuse to allow entrance to anyone who uses an Israeli passport or who has any Israeli stamp in his or her passport. The stamp may be a visa stamp, or a stamp on entry or departure. It can also include a stamp of another country which indicates that the person has entered Israel. For example, if an Egytian departure stamp is used in any passport at the Taba Crossing, that is an indication that the person entered Israel. Countries that do not accept Israeli passports 
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Economic effectsBecause of the boycott, certain products which were ubiquitous elsewhere in the world, such as Pepsi, McDonald's and most Japanese cars were not to be found in in Israel until the boycott began waning in the late 1980s. A similar situation existed in the Arab world which boycotted the products of companies that were selling in Israel as in the case of Coca-Cola, Burger King and Subaru. Although Israel's economy has performed relatively well since 1948, achieving a higher GDP per capita than that of 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 transshipment 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. Weakening of the boycottIn the 1970s, American Jewish Committee spearheaded the fight to pass anti-boycott legislation to counter the Arab League boycott of Israel. 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 although by now Coca-Cola can be found in Syria. 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. In 1992, Japan, citing American Jewish Committee's diplomacy, reversed its policy of supporting the Arab League boycott of Israel. Recent eventsDuring 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. [7] [8] [9] 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." [10] 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, [11] and the Sultanate of Oman. [12] In November, 2006, The Jerusalem Post reported 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."[13] United States Office of Antiboycott ComplianceThe United States adopted two laws that seek to counteract the participation of U.S. citizens in other nation's economic boycotts or embargoes (although these laws do not restrict the ability to engage in disinvestment campaigns.) 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[14] or jail term of up to 10 years.[15] Conduct that may be penalized under the TRA and/or prohibited under the EAR includes:
ReferencesSee alsoExternal links
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