Boycott Watch  
                            
November 14, 2011
 
Arab League Suspension of Syria is a Farce
 
Summary: It's all about the boycott
 

By Fred Taub
President, Boycott Watch
Author, Boycotting Peace

   Dictatorships silencing opposition is common. It should be no surprise, therefore, when the Arab world remained silent to deadly retaliation for Arab Spring protesters. In its silence, the Arab League effectively endorsed Syria as it murdered civilians protesting against their own government. After all, oppressive governments stick together. Feeling both internal and global pressure, Arab leaders are now threatening to suspend Syria from the Arab League. That, however, is nothing more than a PR move because it is impossible to separate Syria from the Arab League.

   In 1910, boycotts of "Jewish Interests" started popping up in the Middle East as the movement to rebuild Israel was gaining momentum. Then in 1921, the Arab Congress, copying the name from the American Jewish Congress, was formed to coordinate the various Arab boycotts of Jews.

   Few realize boycotting Jews was the official Arab policy prior to Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch in Munich in November 1923, the publishing of Mein Kampf in 1925, and for that matter the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses that preceded Kristallnacht on November 9-10, 1938. All these boycotts all had the same intent, to starve out the Jews.

   Then in the 1940's, the name of the Arab Congress was updated as the Arab states and Israel were established. Today, the League of Arab States, more commonly known as the Arab League, has been expanding their boycott globally. When the Arab boycott efforts reached a peak in the 1960's, efforts to block it emerged in the United States, ultimately resulting in the U.S. Import-Export Act Amendment of 1977 which made boycotting Israel illegal in the United States.

   The Arab boycott was meant to harm far more than just Israel. Their goal was, and continues to be, as evidenced by the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, to harm anyone associated, conducting business with or in Israel, and Jews in general.

   For example, Yeshiva University and even Jewish bookstores are documented in the official boycott lists submitted to Congress in the 1970's, despite the fact that Muslims are neither hiring rabbis for mosques nor buying Jewish prayer shawls at Jewish religious stores. The Arab boycott clearly targets all business with Jews, anyone with a degree from a Jewish school, and even anyone who had purchased religious goods from Jewish stores, as they were all blacklisted from doing business with the Arab world. The intent of the Arab boycott was, and still is to isolate all support for Israel.

   The same applies today where BDS, the official policy of the Arab League, both pressures schools and businesses to not invest in, or conduct any business with companies which work with Israel. Businesses are routinely threatened with boycotts for using Caterpillar machinery, for example, because that company sells its products to Israel. Stock funds and universities are also routinely targeted to divest their stock holdings from companies such as the Peoria, Illinois based Caterpillar and all Israeli companies.

   That is where the Syria connection to the Arab League comes into play. The Central Boycott Office, which coordinates the primary mission of the Arab League, is located in, you guessed it, Syria. Suspending Syria from the Arab League is, therefore, like suspending the heart from a living person while keeping the person alive - it is impossible.

   So, when you read headlines about Syria possibly being suspended from the Arab League, be it a full suspension or just from meetings, you now know it is just a PR game to get the non-Arab world to see Arab world standing for freedom, despite the fact that in Saudi Arabia and in most of the rest of the Arab world, women are not allowed to drive or leave the house without a male escort, as dictated by Islamic law.

   Non-Muslims in the Arab world are also subject to religious discrimination, starting with having to pay a special tax just because there are not Muslims. While there are few churches in the Arab world, synagogues are forbidden. In Saudi Arabia, which is considered the most 'moderate' Arab nation, tourism is forbidden as evidenced by the fact that you cannot obtain tourist visa, and even Muslims participating in the Haj pilgrimage have severe travel restrictions, primarily because the Saudi Royal Family does not want anyone to see the mass starving poor in comparison to the royal opulence. It's just another PR move by the Arab world as they hide the true intention of the Arab League and their boycott, which is the economic destruction of Israel and Jews in general while maintaining a false vision of a grand Arab world.

    Despite the Arab boycott campaign failing since inception in 1910, every meeting of the Arab League begins with a report from the Central Boycott Office in Damascus, Syria, followed by a vote to re-affirm their boycott. It is the centerpiece of Arab policy therefore the Arab League cannot actually suspend Syria, no matter what they may say publicly. Additionally, the Arabs do not want you to know suspending Syria is a farce, and they secretly stand by the oppressive Bashar al-Assad regime and their policy which includes murdering their own people just to stay in power. That secret, however, has just been exposed.


    Fred Taub is the President of Boycott Watch, the leading authority on boycotts. His new book, Boycotting Peace, reveals the secrets behind the Arab boycott of Israel and the associated BDS campaign. He regularly appears in the media and is work has even been cited in two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
 
 
 Advertisement:
 
 
 

E-Mail This Page to a Friend
Enter the recipient's e-mail address:

 
(Click here to return to top of page)
 ©2003-2011 Boycott Watch