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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Arab boycott not doing too well

From Globes:
Direct exports to Arab countries continue to grow. Exports to Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco were 45% higher in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the corresponding quarter of 2007, the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute reports. It estimates the potential of exports to Arab and Muslim countries which with Israel has no current trade relations at $1 billion. Obviously, realizing this potential is contingent on the regional political situation.

Jordan is now Israel's primary Arab trading partner, after an 85% increase in exports last year. The Export Institute reports that exports to Jordan totaled $102 million in the first quarter, 62% more than in the corresponding quarter. Most exports were metals, jewelry, processed wood products, textiles, and plastics. 1,050 companies exported goods to Jordan at the end of 2007, 8% more than a year earlier. This is the largest number of companies exporting to an Arab country.
Palestine Today reports the raw numbers plus its own inimitable editorial spin (autotranslated):
Despite the Almighty votes claim for activating Arab economic boycott of Israel with a response to its policy of racism against all that is Arab, a report of the volume of Israeli exports to Israel's exports to Arab countries during the first quarter of this year amounted to 145 million dollars, an increase of 48% compared with the same period In 2007.

The report emphasized the importance of the Arabian Gulf region and a market for Israeli products prepared especially in light of the economic boom witnessed by the Gulf Cooperation Council states during the past three years by registering record levels and oil prices.

They expected the volume of Israeli exports to increase trade with Arab and Islamic states to reach one billion dollars during the current year, and include others that did not sign the trade agreements directly with Israel. This has reached the volume of bilateral trade with Arab countries in 2007 through about 410 million dollars.
It is curious that Palestinian Arabs, who so desperately want the barrier between them and Israel to go down so they can get Israeli jobs and money and who are completely dependent on Israeli money for their own industry, are so insulted that other Arab countries trade with Israel.

This is typical, however. Arabs historically always wanted other Arabs to take the hit for their own hate. The same people who wanted the death penalty for selling land to Jews in the 1930s sold land to the Jews themselves, and the Arab leaders who advocated a boycott of Jewish goods and services in 1947 ended up a reign of terror against the Arabs who were hurt by the boycott most.