Whether BDS is responsible for the sequence of statements, recriminations, and apologies centered around French telecom company Orange remains disputable. What’s certain, however, is that the matter has given the movement a boost through the reams of publicity Orange has received in recent days.
The issue started last week when Orange CEO Stephane Richard declared his desire to leave Israel if not for the high penalties. His comments, delivered in Egypt, also mentioned his intention to build trust in the Arab world. Shortly after his sordid comments gained traction in the media, the company announced it would, indeed, break off from the Israeli company that had licensed the use of its corporate brand.
Since then, the story has zigzagged in all directions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the French government to renounce Richard’s “miserable statement.” Orange officials announced the decision was purely a business consideration, unrelated to politics. Richard himself issued an apology, claiming he had no intention of boycotting Israel. In fact, he loves Israel.
Most amazingly, he declared that he didn’t even know about the BDS campaign against Israel. “I was not aware there is a kind of international campaign regarding this,” he said. “I am very sorry about that.”
Of course, if BDS continues to reap so much free publicity, Richard may be the last one who’s unaware of the campaign against Israel.
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BDS also got a lift from the French Ambassador to America, Gerard Araud. While Orange officials went out of their way to explain their decision was based on policies against letting third parties license their name, Araud issued a tweet implying that Richard wanted to leave because of the settlement issue. “It is illegal to contribute to it in any way,” he wrote.
So while Richard and Orange were actively denying any political motivation, Araud was promoting a position held by BDS activists in Egypt claiming that Orange was violating international law by working with the Israeli company, Partner, which provided cellular phone service over the Green Line.
But as Northwestern University School of Law Professor Eugene Kontorovich points out, Araud was also wrong on the facts:
That statement is entirely baseless. Even if settlements are illegal, there is no ban on business in the territories, or with settlers. Certainly there is no tertiary obligation to not do business with businesses that have some tangential business in such territory.
Others said Orange’s decision to leave Israel demonstrated how much sway BDS had gained in French politics. “The influence of BDS on policy is more than a trickle; it’s a flow,” Shimon Samuels of the Simon Wiesenthal Center told JTA. “And it’s happening all over Europe.”
There is no question that Orange, perhaps even unwittingly, boosted the BDS, which will, no doubt, take full credit for the entire episode. The question now is whether Orange will be forced to pay a price high enough to deter other companies from following in its footsteps.
A few days after the Orange announcement, the Israeli government made an announcement of its own about plans to increase the fight against BDS. According to media reports, the government has agreed to allocate $25 million to the fight against BDS.
