In the report, the council said the companies’ activities “raised particular human rights concerns.” To be clear, these companies are not carrying out human rights abuses and for the UNHRC to suggest such a thing is defamatory.
For example, Angel Bakeries is Israel’s largest bread maker. They make the list, not because of any wrongdoing, but because they supply bread to shops in the West Bank. This is not illegal under any law. There is no law against a company doing business in disputed territory. In fact, if that was the law then all disputed territories in the world right now, including Ukraine and Syria, would have to have all companies blacklisted.
Another example is Trip Advisor, a website used by people around the world to review hotels and restaurants. Them listing Israeli restaurants, allowing tourists and locals to see what food options are available to them locally. They have not committed any human rights abuses or done anything wrong, but they find themselves on the list and will no doubt be pursued by Palestinian lawyers and activists.
The purpose of this move by the UNHRC is to try and force companies to abandon Israel. Their aim is to damage the Jewish state. There are real human rights abuses going on around the world which the UN is ignoring whilst they dedicate excessive amounts of time to attack the world’s only Jewish state.
Venezuela is currently starving its people; 41% of children under 5 have gone for a day without a meal due to extreme poverty. The Maduro government arrests journalists for reporting the facts and shuts down its political opponents. Instead of investigating Venezuela or condemning them for human rights abuses, Venezuela has been rewarded by joining the UN Human Rights Council so it can pass judgements on other countries.
China is another large-scale abuser of human rights. There has been no investigation into the mass incarceration of Uighurs in Xinjiang or any of the many other human rights abuses the Chinese government commits. Instead, China sits on the UN committee that oversees human rights organisations.
Iran, another abuser of human rights, has released ID cards for the Baha’l community, in an apartheid-like system that deprives them of state benefits and applications for banking, driver’s licenses and passports. Not to mention the fact Iran killed over 1,500 peaceful protesters in the last couple of months. There was no UN condemnation of Iran despite these atrocities.
Instead the UNHRC dedicates four years to put together a list of companies that operate within Israel, a small portion of which is within disputed territories and many of whom employ Palestinians to work for them. This does not further the cause of peace, it is an attempt to damage Israel and its economy and should be rejected outright.
“Dictatorships initiated this blacklist not because they care about human rights, but to divert attention from serial rights abuses committed by council members like Venezuela, Libya, and DR Congo, by scapegoating the Jewish state,” said UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer.
“Doing business in disputed territories has never been prohibited under international law, nor, until today, subject to a UN blacklist.”
“For example, the EU has business and financial dealings in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara and in Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus. Curiously, out of more than 100 territorial disputes in the world today, including in Tibet, Kashmir, Crimea, Western Sahara and Northern Cyprus. the UN chose only to blacklist companies doing business in Israel’s disputed territories,” Neuer added.
“As several major democracies wrote the UN, the world body has no legal mandate to tell companies where they should or should not operate. Moreover, if this were really about human rights, then the key factor would be a consideration of whether Palestinian human rights are actually violated, yet that’s ignored.”
Neuer charges, “Sadly, this is one more example of the Palestinian hijacking of UN bodies to promote a one-sided political agenda that fosters conflict instead of advancing peace.”
“High Commissioner Bachelet, who should be standing up for the UN Charter principles of universality and equality, has now allowed her office to become a tool for the discriminatory anti-Israel BDS movement, which singles out the Jewish state for boycott, divestment & sanctions.”
“With the blacklist, the UN has now become Ground Zero for global BDS.”
Shame on the United Nations.
Below are the 112 companies listed in the report, and their home countries:
1. Afikim Public Transportation Ltd., Israel
2. Airbnb Inc., United States
3. American Israeli Gas Corporation Ltd., Israel
4. Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture Ltd., Israel
5. Amos Hadar Properties and Investments Ltd., Israel
6. Angel Bakeries, Israel
7. Archivists Ltd., Israel
8. Ariel Properties Group, Israel
9. Ashtrom Industries Ltd., Israel
10. Ashtrom Properties Ltd., Israel
11. Avgol Industries 1953 Ltd., Israel
12. Bank Hapoalim B.M., Israel
13. Bank Leumi Le-Israel B.M., Israel
14. Bank of Jerusalem Ltd., Israel
15. Beit Haarchiv Ltd., Israel
16. Bezeq, the Israel Telecommunication Corp Ltd., Israel
17. Booking.com B.V., Netherlands
18. C Mer Industries Ltd., Israel
19. Café Café Israel Ltd., Israel
20. Caliber 3, Israel
21. Cellcom Israel Ltd., Israel
22. Cherriessa Ltd., Israel
23. Chish Nofei Israel Ltd., Israel
24. Citadis Israel Ltd., Israel
25. Comasco Ltd., Israel
26. Darban Investments Ltd., Israel
27. Delek Group Ltd., Israel
28. Delta Israel, Israel
29. Dor Alon Energy in Israel 1988 Ltd., Israel
30. Egis Rail, France
31. Egged, Israel Transportation Cooperative Society Ltd., Israel
32. Energix Renewable Energies Ltd., Israel
33. EPR Systems Ltd., Israel
34. Extal Ltd., Israel
35. Expedia Group Inc., United States
36. Field Produce Ltd., Israel
37. Field Produce Marketing Ltd., Israel
38. First International Bank of Israel Ltd., Israel
39. Galshan Shvakim Ltd., Israel
40. General Mills Israel Ltd., Israel
41. Hadiklaim Israel Date Growers Cooperative Ltd., Israel
42. Hot Mobile Ltd., Israel
43. Hot Telecommunications Systems Ltd., Israel
44. Industrial Buildings Corporation Ltd., Israel
45. Israel Discount Bank Ltd., Israel
46. Israel Railways Corporation Ltd., Israel
47. Italek Ltd., Israel
48. JC Bamford Excavators Ltd., United Kingdom
49. Jerusalem Economy Ltd., Israel
50. Kavim Public Transportation Ltd., Israel
51. Lipski Installation and Sanitation Ltd., Israel
52. Matrix IT Ltd., Israel
53. Mayer Davidov Garages Ltd., Israel
54. Mekorot Water Company Ltd., Israel
55. Mercantile Discount Bank Ltd., Israel
56. Merkavim Transportation Technologies Ltd., Israel
57. Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd., Israel
58. Modi’in Ezrachi Group Ltd., Israel
59. Mordechai Aviv Taasiot Beniyah 1973 Ltd., Israel
60. Motorola Solutions Israel Ltd., Israel
61. Municipal Bank Ltd., Israel
62. Naaman Group Ltd., Israel
63. Nof Yam Security Ltd., Israel
64. Ofertex Industries 1997 Ltd., Israel
65. Opodo Ltd., United Kingdom
66. Bank Otsar Ha-Hayal Ltd., Israel
67. Partner Communications Company Ltd., Israel
68. Paz Oil Company Ltd., Israel
69. Pelegas Ltd., Israel
70. Pelephone Communications Ltd., Israel
71. Proffimat S.R. Ltd., Israel
72. Rami Levy Chain Stores Hashikma Marketing 2006 Ltd., Israel
73. Rami Levy Hashikma Marketing Communication Ltd., Israel
74. Re/Max Israel, Israel
75. Shalgal Food Ltd., Israel
76. Shapir Engineering and Industry Ltd., Israel
77. Shufersal Ltd., Israel
78. Sonol Israel Ltd., Israel
79. Superbus Ltd., Israel
80. Supergum Industries 1969 Ltd., Israel
81. Tahal Group International B.V., Netherlands
82. TripAdvisor Inc., United States
83. Twitoplast Ltd., Israel
84. Unikowsky Maoz Ltd., Israel
85. YES, Israel
86. Zakai Agricultural Know-how and inputs Ltd., Israel
87. ZF Development and Construction, Israel
88. ZMH Hammermand Ltd., Israel
89. Zorganika Ltd., Israel
90. Zriha Hlavin Industries Ltd., Israel
91. Alon Blue Square Israel Ltd., Israel
92. Alstom S.A., France
93. Altice Europe N.V., Netherlands
94. Amnon Mesilot Ltd., Israel
95. Ashtrom Group Ltd., Israel
96. Booking Holdings Inc., United States
97. Brand Industries Ltd., Israel
98. Delta Galil Industries Ltd., Israel
99. eDreams ODIGEO S.A., Luxembourg
100. Egis S.A., France
101. Electra Ltd., Israel
102. Export Investment Company Ltd., Israel
103. General Mills Inc., United States
104. Hadar Group, Israel
105. Hamat Group Ltd., Israel
106. Indorama Ventures P.C.L., Thailand
107. Kardan N.V., Netherlands
108. Mayer’s Cars and Trucks Co. Ltd., Israel
109. Motorola Solutions Inc., United States
110. Natoon Group, Israel
111. Villar International Ltd., Israel
112. Greenkote P.L.C., United Kingdom
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