Netanyahu slams telecoms giant Orange’s decision to leave Israel

It comes after the French company's CEO said he would end pull the brand out of the Jewish state "tomorrow" if he could.

An ultra orthodox Jewish man walks past a store of Israeli telecom operator Partner, which has a licence from French company Orange to use its brand, in Jerusalem on June 4. AFP Photo

JERUSALEM // The Israeli prime minister yesterday called on Paris to distance itself from the “miserable action” of French telecoms operator Orange, after it said it would cut ties with the Jewish state.

Benjamin Netanyahu was reacting to comments by Stephane Richard, the chief executive of Orange, who said on Wednesday that he would end his company’s relationship with Israel’s Partner Communications tomorrow if he could.

Mr Netanyahu called on Paris to “distance itself publicly from the miserable statement and the miserable action of a company that is partially owned by the government of France”.

Orange confirmed yesterday that it wanted to withdraw its brand from Israel but insisted its decision to end its brand-licensing agreement with Partner was not politically motivated.

It said it did not want to maintain a presence in countries where Orange was not a phone provider, and that the move was “in conformity with its brand policy”.

The storm erupted on Wednesday when Mr Richard said in Cairo that the company planned to withdraw from Israel.

He did not directly refer to the question of Israeli settlements but a report on May 6 accused Orange of indirectly supporting settlement building through its relationship with Partner.

Five non-government organisations and two unions in France asked Orange to publicly state its willingness to sever its ties with Partner and denounce “attacks on human rights” carried out by the Israeli company.

The report said Partner’s business activities were contributing to the economic viability of the settlements and perpetuating a situation seen as illegal by the international community.

Israel is growing increasingly concerned about global boycott efforts and its image abroad.

Partner, Israel’s second largest mobile operator, operates under the Orange brand name.

Israeli deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely wrote to Mr Richard warning him not to become party to “the industry of lies that unfairly targets Israel”.

Isaac Benbenisti, who will become chairman of Partner on July 1, said he was “very, very angry”. He accused Mr Richard of caving in to “very significant pressure” from pro-Palestinian activists and joining a global campaign to isolate Israel.

Partner has been attacked by rights groups for operating in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. French human rights groups have been pushing their government and Orange to end the relationship over Partner’s activities there.

Israeli authorities say the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is not out to promote peace, but aims to “delegitimise” the country’s existence as a Jewish state.

The crisis comes after days of introspection in Israel over its place in the world, with the government railing against what it has denounced as a campaign of delegitimisation.

Israel has been struggling to tackle a growing Palestinian-led boycott campaign that has had a number of high-profile successes.

The BDS movement aims to exert political and economic pressure over Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories in a bid to repeat the success of the campaign that ended apartheid in South Africa.

This week, Britain’s National Union of Students voted to affiliate itself with the BDS movement, in a move that drew a sharp rebuke from Mr Netanyahu.

Last week, Israel narrowly avoided expulsion from Fifa after the Palestinians withdrew a resolution calling on it to ban the Israeli football association over restrictions on Palestinian players and the presence of five teams inside Jewish settlements.

* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press