United States expands penalties for complying with Arab League boycott of Israel
Enhance penalties in place for compliance with the decades-old Arab League boycott, at a moment when longtime participants have opted out and others are doubling down.
The Biden administration will enhance penalties for compliance with the decades-old Arab League boycott of Israel, at a moment when some longtime participants have opted out and others are doubling down.
Matthew Axelrod, the assistant commerce secretary for export enforcement, told the American Jewish Committee on Thursday that those complying with the boycott will now be required to admit wrongdoing before settling with the U.S. government, and that they will be subject to penalties if their foreign subsidiaries comply with the boycott. Companies until now did not have to acknowledge participating in the boycott when they settled charges.
Axelrod, meeting with the AJC at its Washington, D.C., office, said the boycott, which has existed since before Israel was established as a state and which Congress made illegal in the 1970s, was weakening. Notably, he said, the four Arab countries that in 2020 normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords are all members of the Arab League, and all have discarded the boycott.
Other countries were recommitting to their Israel boycotts, however, he said.
“Holdouts, like Assad’s Syria, have categorically rejected ‘normalisation’ with Israel,” Axelrod said, according to an AJC release. “And in May, Iraq passed a law that even criminalises normalisation of relations with Israel. This recent doubling down on anti-Israeli sentiment by countries like Syria and Iraq comes at a time of shocking growth in antisemitism — what AJC notes as the world’s oldest hatred — more broadly, both here in the United States and around the globe.”
Axelrod’s briefing with the AJC was the first under the group’s new CEO, former Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch.
Deutch said battling the boycott was still important, even as it becomes less relevant.
“Despite warming relations some Arab nations have with Israel, the Arab League needlessly persists in this boycott, which has done nothing to hinder Israel from becoming an economic powerhouse in the Middle East,” he said. “We applaud the Commerce Department’s efforts to sanction American firms that bow to the demands of, or seek to curry favour with boycotting nations. They must be held accountable for activities that help spread anti-Zionist sentiment.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
