Yesterday Stephane Richard, Chairman and CEO of Orange - France Telecom's global mobile phone operator, told reporters in Cairo that he'd gladly sever his ties with his Israeli affiliate, Partner Communications, because of Israel's policies in areas inhabited by Palestinians. To begin with, it's a bit ironic that he'd make such a statement in Cairo, where almost 900 civilians were killed during what's locally known as the January 25 Revolution in 2011, where a growing number of people are sentenced to death as part of the government's crackdown on Islamists, and where an embargo is imposed on the Gaza Strip because of an influx of terrorist activities into Sinai.
Mr. Richard may or may not personally believe in his own statement and might just be responding to pressure by so called "human rights" or other anti-Israel organizations, nevertheless it was an unfortunate statement to make. To be clear, organizations which push for boycotting Israel, do not do so in defense of the innocent, but rather out of racism and hatred, under the guise of battling for human rights, and those who support them either suffer from the same ailment or are naïve and uneducated about the situation in Israel and its complexity. If human rights were truly their guiding concern, these activists would balance their outcry by extending it to other countries, organizations and regimes as well.
Had it not been for the Israeli-based R&D center of Motorola, which developed the original cell phone technology, Mr. Richard might not have been in the position to discuss this matter in the first place. In fact, had it not been for Israeli companies, Orange customers worldwide might have had a completely different cell phone experience altogether: identity authentication was developed in Israel, as well as text and voice messaging, the cell phone camera chip, and a multitude of (revenue-making, I might add) applications used with Smart Phones (such as Waze).
Mr. Richard and anyone else considering boycotting Israel should first re-examine their reasoning as it is most likely based on racist sentiment and in any event is not justified by reality. Furthermore, they should consider the positive impact Israeli technologies have on the lives of millions of people around the world who enjoy better communication, greater health, safety and security, and a safer and healthier environment because of the unparalleled amount of leading innovation that stems from this country.
Thankfully, enough people do not agree with Mr. Richard or those who pressured him, realizing that claims of Israeli mistreatment of Palestinians are baseless and that boycotting the country would negatively impact the lives of millions across the globe.
Ilan Friedman
ilan@ncompas.net
Originally posted on LinkedIn June 4, 2015
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