Following a whirlwind of diplomatic fallout, the CEO of Orange – the parent company of Mobinil – Stéphane Richard, has apologised for saying that “it is [Orange’s] intention to terminate its contract with Israel”, and that he would he “would cancel it tomorrow if [he] could.” The comments, made at a recent press conference in Cairo, were celebrated by activists and human rights organisations, and were particularly welcomed by Egypt’s branch of the boycott, divestments and sanctions (BDS) movement. The BDS movement is a global campaign that aims to increase political and economic pressure on Israel to comply with international human rights law. After calls for the French government to denounce Richard’s statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Richard retracted his comments, and was quoted as saying: “I’m a friend of Israel, I love Israel. My words were taken out of context and misunderstood….we at Orange condemn boycotts of any kind.” It is unclear whether Richard has accepted an invitation from Netanyahu to visit Israel and explain his comments. Both Orange and its Egyptian subsidiary Mobinil have been heavily criticized by BDS Egypt for profiting from the actions of…
Egypt’s Boycott Movement Continues Fight Against Mobinil’s Controversial Israeli Ties
June 8, 2015
