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| C.E.O. of Orange Meets With Netanyahu to Apologize for Remarks | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| JERUSALEM — The chief executive of a French telecommunications company made an extraordinary personal pilgrimage to apologize to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Friday after his recent declaration that he wanted to disentangle from an Israeli mobile provider prompted a diplomatic uproar. | JERUSALEM — The chief executive of a French telecommunications company made an extraordinary personal pilgrimage to apologize to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Friday after his recent declaration that he wanted to disentangle from an Israeli mobile provider prompted a diplomatic uproar. |
| Stéphane Richard, chairman of the French company, Orange, said that his remarks were “distorted and misunderstood” as part of the mounting boycott movement targeting companies that operate in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. | |
| He said on Friday, as he had earlier, that his comments made in Cairo last week about wishing to end the licensing agreement with Partner Communications of Israel “tomorrow morning” were purely a business issue. | |
| “I regret deeply this controversy, and I want to make totally clear that Orange as a company has never supported and will never support any kind of boycott against Israel,” Mr. Richard told Mr. Netanyahu. “Israel is a fantastic place to be in the digital industry, and, of course, our will is to strengthen and to keep on investing here.” | “I regret deeply this controversy, and I want to make totally clear that Orange as a company has never supported and will never support any kind of boycott against Israel,” Mr. Richard told Mr. Netanyahu. “Israel is a fantastic place to be in the digital industry, and, of course, our will is to strengthen and to keep on investing here.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu had denounced Mr. Richard’s statement as “miserable” and rejected his initial offer to apologize to Israel’s ambassador to France, insisting he instead come to Israel, where the two men stood Friday morning in front of four Israeli flags. | Mr. Netanyahu had denounced Mr. Richard’s statement as “miserable” and rejected his initial offer to apologize to Israel’s ambassador to France, insisting he instead come to Israel, where the two men stood Friday morning in front of four Israeli flags. |
| “It’s no secret that the remarks you made last week were widely seen as an attack on Israel, and so your visit here is an opportunity to set the record straight,” the prime minister said. “We seek a genuine and secure peace with our Palestinian neighbors, but that can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions. It will not be achieved through boycotts and through threats of boycotts.” | “It’s no secret that the remarks you made last week were widely seen as an attack on Israel, and so your visit here is an opportunity to set the record straight,” the prime minister said. “We seek a genuine and secure peace with our Palestinian neighbors, but that can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions. It will not be achieved through boycotts and through threats of boycotts.” |
| Omar Barghouti, a founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, called Mr. Richard “obsequious” and said his company’s decision to curtail its deal with Partner in 2025 was more important than what he “is intimidated into saying.” Mr. Barghouti said the boycott was “reaching a tipping point, mainly because of its compelling moral argument and strategic campaigning.” | Omar Barghouti, a founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, called Mr. Richard “obsequious” and said his company’s decision to curtail its deal with Partner in 2025 was more important than what he “is intimidated into saying.” Mr. Barghouti said the boycott was “reaching a tipping point, mainly because of its compelling moral argument and strategic campaigning.” |
| Mr. Richard’s outburst in Cairo and subsequent about-face may indeed prove to be a watershed moment for the boycott movement begun a decade ago, if only for the backlash it provoked. | Mr. Richard’s outburst in Cairo and subsequent about-face may indeed prove to be a watershed moment for the boycott movement begun a decade ago, if only for the backlash it provoked. |
| What had for years been background noise in Israel exploded into the headlines, with politicians rushing to microphones to pledge allegiance against boycott. Many American officials and Jewish leaders joined the chorus, in some cases obscuring their criticism of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. | What had for years been background noise in Israel exploded into the headlines, with politicians rushing to microphones to pledge allegiance against boycott. Many American officials and Jewish leaders joined the chorus, in some cases obscuring their criticism of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. |
| Mr. Netanyahu pledged $26 million to fight back. Sheldon Adelson, the conservative casino mogul, convened a summit meeting in Las Vegas that reportedly raised $20 million to battle the boycott through an activist army called “Campus Maccabees.” | |
| Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s new far-right justice minister, said she had instructed her international department to “prepare a plan of legal steps” against the movement, adding, “we will move from the defense to the offense.” Another minister made a call reminiscent of wartime for the left to join Mr. Netanyahu’s rightist government in a show of national unity to address the rising threat. | Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s new far-right justice minister, said she had instructed her international department to “prepare a plan of legal steps” against the movement, adding, “we will move from the defense to the offense.” Another minister made a call reminiscent of wartime for the left to join Mr. Netanyahu’s rightist government in a show of national unity to address the rising threat. |
| Part of what changed the conversation was a seeming shift in targets: The highest-profile boycott campaigns had previously focused on factories in West Bank settlements, but Partner, the Israeli cellular company that licenses the Orange brand, does the vast majority of its business inside Israel proper yet has some operations there. So do many Israel companies — chain restaurants and stores, insurance providers, banks — since about 600,000 Israelis now live in places Israel seized in the 1967 war. | Part of what changed the conversation was a seeming shift in targets: The highest-profile boycott campaigns had previously focused on factories in West Bank settlements, but Partner, the Israeli cellular company that licenses the Orange brand, does the vast majority of its business inside Israel proper yet has some operations there. So do many Israel companies — chain restaurants and stores, insurance providers, banks — since about 600,000 Israelis now live in places Israel seized in the 1967 war. |
| “If you’re a consumer business, are you going to write them off? I don’t think so,” said Jon Medved, a venture capitalist who has seeded scores of start-ups. “By doing so, you’re going to engender more problems for yourself. Everyone has to do business there.” | “If you’re a consumer business, are you going to write them off? I don’t think so,” said Jon Medved, a venture capitalist who has seeded scores of start-ups. “By doing so, you’re going to engender more problems for yourself. Everyone has to do business there.” |
| Uriel Lynn, president of the federation of Israeli chambers of commerce, was one of several business leaders who said the boycott has had no effect on the bottom line, noting that “we have a surplus in our foreign trade today.” The Israeli Export Institute counted $97 billion in exports of goods and services last year, about 30 percent of Israel’s gross domestic product, with trade to Europe recovering steadily after a dive it attributed to the economic crisis, not to boycotts. | |
| “It doesn’t have any commercial or economic impact,” Mr. Lynn said. “It has only a moral impact.” | “It doesn’t have any commercial or economic impact,” Mr. Lynn said. “It has only a moral impact.” |
| Several Israeli executives, though, would consent only to off-the-record conversations about the boycott, concerned that any mention of their companies could put them in the cross hairs. | Several Israeli executives, though, would consent only to off-the-record conversations about the boycott, concerned that any mention of their companies could put them in the cross hairs. |
| During a discussion of Israel’s potential in global markets at this week’s Herzliya Conference, Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Electronics Associations, outlined “the calculus” for potential international investors: “Is it worth it to be in Israel when there’s a risk I could be boycotted?” | During a discussion of Israel’s potential in global markets at this week’s Herzliya Conference, Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Electronics Associations, outlined “the calculus” for potential international investors: “Is it worth it to be in Israel when there’s a risk I could be boycotted?” |
| Allan McArtor, chairman of Airbus, said any company “takes some pause as to can they develop a market or markets among the gulf states at the same time as Israel.” | Allan McArtor, chairman of Airbus, said any company “takes some pause as to can they develop a market or markets among the gulf states at the same time as Israel.” |
| “I don’t think we need to put any sugar on it,” Mr. McArtor said. “Commerce is attracted to stability, and stability can only happen if you have peace, so the missing ingredient for Israel’s dramatic growth is this peace issue.” | “I don’t think we need to put any sugar on it,” Mr. McArtor said. “Commerce is attracted to stability, and stability can only happen if you have peace, so the missing ingredient for Israel’s dramatic growth is this peace issue.” |
| Mr. Barghouti, the boycott advocate, said Veolia, a French company the movement targeted for its involvement in Jerusalem’s light rail, “is running scared from Israel after losing billions of dollars in global tenders,” though the company has said its withdrawal from the light-rail system was part of a global sell-off of transportation endeavors. | Mr. Barghouti, the boycott advocate, said Veolia, a French company the movement targeted for its involvement in Jerusalem’s light rail, “is running scared from Israel after losing billions of dollars in global tenders,” though the company has said its withdrawal from the light-rail system was part of a global sell-off of transportation endeavors. |
| Mr. Barghouti also noted that G4S, a British security company, “has already announced it will not renew its main contract with the Israeli prison system,” which expires in 2017. | Mr. Barghouti also noted that G4S, a British security company, “has already announced it will not renew its main contract with the Israeli prison system,” which expires in 2017. |
| “B.D.S. is making international corporations that are complicit in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people pay a steep price,” he said, using the movement’s initials. “Orange may be learning this lesson quicker than most.” | “B.D.S. is making international corporations that are complicit in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people pay a steep price,” he said, using the movement’s initials. “Orange may be learning this lesson quicker than most.” |