The Orange Affair: ADC writes to French ambassador
In a letter to the French Ambassador to Australia Mr. Christophe Lecourtier, the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) has denounced the decision by French Telecommunication Company Orange to end its licensing deal with Israeli company Partner Communications.
The letter also calls upon French President Francois Hollande to take immediate action to overturn “this contemptible and obscene boycott of Israel”.
In Cairo, Orange’s CEO Stéphane Richard’s said that if not for sizeable financial penalties, he would cut his company’s relationship “tomorrow” with Partner.
Dvir Abramowich
As part of the letter to the ambassador, ADC Chairman Dvir Abramovich wrote: “For Orange to become a subsidiary of the anti-Israel movement and to appease the international BDS campaign by pulling out of Israel only empowers those who wish to delegitimise and malign the Jewish state.
Given that the French government owns 25% of Orange’s shares, President Hollande must immediately step in and state that any discriminatory decisions by French companies to single out and boycott Israel are not only illegal, but go against the country’s political, ethical and moral values.
In light of Orange’s CEO Stéphane Richard’s remarks in Cairo that “I know that it is a sensitive issue here in Egypt, but not only in Egypt…We want to be one of the trustful partners of all Arab countries” we do not accept the company’s subsequent justification that this is merely about commercial concerns. We urge all governments to condemn this economic embargo and shameful assault on Israel, and to urge French President Holland to intervene and reverse this deplorable action by Orange.”
The decision of Orange is their loss, as Israelis subscribers will now switch to other carriers such as Bezeq and will benefit the local economy. However, there was no need to send a protest note to the ambassador in Australia, as this was a decision by the executives of Orange not the French politicians!