Deputy chair of Tory party: I’d boycott Orange
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
By Jenni Frazer
The deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, suggested that there should be a boycott of Orange phone products in response to the remarks of the company’s chief executive about working with Israel.
Robert Halfon was speaking at the UK-Israel Shared Strategic Challenges Conference in London, after remarks of chief executive, Stephane Richard, declared that he would terminate a licensing agreement with Israel’s Partner Communications “tomorrow morning” if he were able. Though he subsequently visited Israel and issued an apologetic clarification, Mr Halfon said bluntly that perhaps it was time to boycott Orange in response.
Halfon said: “Israel has used Orange phone technology for many years, but for the head of Orange to say that he wished Orange were not in Israel, after having provided the service for many years, in order to try and get business with Arab countries, I think was incredibly damaging and incredibly distressing.”
“It doesn’t matter that he subsequently apologised. It was the fact that the head of Orange actually said this in the first place. It’s [apparently] alright to have phone networks in totalitarian regimes, but in Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, the head of Orange said that he wished his company were not in Israel. If I was an Israeli I would not use Orange ever again. In fact we should boycott Orange rather than the other way round. But it’s symptomatic of the boycott campaign”.
The MP, a long-standing member of the Conservative Friends of Israel, told the conference – organised by Jewish News and partnered by Bicom – that Israel was losing the PR war “by hundreds of miles. Extreme anti-Israel remarks have become mainstream and part of our discourse.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
