American Jewish Congress Executive Director Neil B. Goldstein has written to Secretary of the Treasury John Snow, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), asking the CFIUS to investigate reports that Dubai Ports World (DPW) actively enforces the Arab economic boycott of Israel.
Concerning DPW’s proposed purchase of P&O, gaining control of several American ports, Mr. Goldstein emphasized that defense of a decision in DPW’s favor “rests in large part on the importance of free international trade for the national security of the United States and its allies, including Israel.” He called upon CFIUS to “explore whether DPW’s presence in the United States would strengthen its ability to enforce the illegal Arab boycott of Israel abroad” and, further, to examine “whether approval of the purchase would signal a lack of resolve by the United States in enforcing the anti-boycott laws.”
Reminding the Committee of the leading role the American Jewish Congress played in bringing the anti-boycott law into existence, Mr. Goldstein asked for the CFIUS to ask DPW to provide assurances that it would no longer comply with the boycott. “At a minimum,” he wrote, “CFIUS should insist on a clear statement by DPW that it will not allow P&O to take any part in enforcing the boycott.” This is necessary, he stressed, because “Enforcement of the anti-boycott laws is . . . an important manifestation of our nation’s efforts to ensure that Israel is accepted as a sovereign nation.”
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