Last week the Arab Boycott Bureau against Israel failed to meet in the Syrian capital of Damascus as planned. Why? Because the committee could not secure the required quorum. The two-thirds majority of Arab League members needed for a quorum simply failed to show up. This means — or certainly seems to indicate — that more than one-third of Arab states are not enthusiastic about reviving the boycott which was to be the subject of the meeting.
An Arab League report said most of the absentees failed to give plausible justifications or understandable reasons as to why they had not attended. The reasons are nevertheless obvious and we can explain them here on their behalf. The Arab boycott against Israel was an effective weapon in support of the Palestinians until the convening of the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991. The boycott succeeded because it was spared the snares of Arab conflicts. All the Arabs agreed to enforce the boycott although the degree of enforcement was the subject of debate especially among countries which suffered as a result of the boycott.
On the other hand, we should not forget the fact that there is a price to be paid for the return of Gaza and Jericho to Palestinian rule and the subsequent Israeli concessions regarding both the land and administration. The price for such concessions were the lifting of the Arab boycott and the commitment by the Palestinian authority to drop the armed struggle. In fact, the concessions were relatively far below what the Israelis asked for. The Arab side insisted on boycotting Israeli companies and preventing them from marketing their products in the Arab world. It did, however, allow foreign companies access to Arab markets.
Attempts to revive the boycott are no longer feasible for the following reasons. First, the effect of banning foreign goods is limited. Second, taking the elephant out of the cage is not as easy as getting it back inside. Contracts have been signed and a new trade reality has developed. These cannot be so easily abolished by a decision from the Arab Boycott Bureau. Since the boycott is still valid and enforced against goods coming from Israel, the country primarily concerned with acts of war and harassment, then the current level of boycott will do for at least one practical reason — a lack of desire from many Arab governments to re-enforce the boycott of secondary companies.
Thinking of going after non-Israeli companies and of closing the door in the face of goods did not help very much in influencing big countries like the United States and other Western states. There has not been a single case where a foreign government has changed its position or given in to demands because of the boycott. This is because the volume of trade done by the banned companies in Arab markets is insignificant. At the same time, boycotting Israeli companies remains the most effective weapon in the hands of the Arabs and still serves as an important card in the bargaining process. Israel considers the opening of Arab markets to its goods as a strategic goal for which it stands ready to exchange major political positions.
For these reasons, attempts by the Arab Boycott Bureau to re-enforce the banning of non-Israeli companies from entering Arab markets will neither succeed nor draw the enthusiasm of some Arab parties and it would be better if the matter were closed once and for all.
