Netanyahu slams telecom giant’s plan to cut business ties with Israel
• French telecom giant Orange SA’s declaration that it wants to cut business ties with Israel has given a boost to the burgeoning antiIsrael boycott movement while drawing a sharp rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday.
The move bodes poorly for Israel at a time of growing international anger over its West Bank settlements and could put almost any Israeli company in the cross-hairs of the boycott campaign. It also illustrates just how deeply intertwined Israeli settlements are with the rest of the country.
Netanyahu responded angrily, calling on “the French government to publicly repudiate the miserable statement and miserable action by a company that is under its partial ownership.”
The remarks came a day after Orange’s CEO Stephane Richard said he would end his company’s relationship with Partner Communications Ltd. “tomorrow” if he could, but he was bound by a contract for the time being. He cited the company’s sensitivity to Arab countries. Partner licenses the Orange brand name in Israel.
His announcement caused uproar in Israel.
“The absurd drama in which the democracy that observes human rights — the state of Israel — and which defends itself from barrages of missiles and terrorist tunnels, and then absorbs automatic condemnations and attempted boycotts, this absurd drama will not be forgiven,” Netanyahu said.
Pro-Palestinian activists in France have been pushing for Orange to end the relationship over Partner’s activities in Israeli settlements. The settlements, built on land the Palestinians want for a future state, are seen as illegitimate by the international community.
Orange appears to be the largest and best-known com- pany to yield to pressure from a global movement calling for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
Israeli officials say BDS is not out to promote peace, but aims to “delegitimize” the country’s existence as a Jewish state. They point to the grassroots movement’s support for millions of Palestinian refugees to return to their ancestors’ homes in what is now Israel. Israel rejects the “right of return,” saying it would end the country’s character as a Jewish and democratic state.
In a statement in Paris, Orange said it sought to clarify it wants to pull out of Israel for business reasons, not political ones. The firm said it doesn’t want to maintain a presence in countries where Orange is not a phone provider, and the move is “in conformity with its brand policy.” Orange said it “has no reason to take part ... in a debate of a political nature.”