The Blacklist

France's government-owned Renault Co., world's No. 6 automaker, last week canceled its contract with an Israeli firm to assemble its cars in Israel. Reason: fear of an Arab boycott. To the Israelis it was an old story, but a particularly galling example. Obviously De Gaulle's government had consented to the move, and Israelis thought they knew why: subordinating all else to an Algerian solution, De

Gaulle was doing all he could to mollify Arab states that might be useful intermediaries with the Algerian rebels. Events had moved a long way since France and Israel, out of common enmity toward Nasser, had cooperated in the Suez invasion.

In their annoyance, Tel Aviv newspapers made wry play with the name of Renault's President Pierre Dreyfus. They incorrectly identified him as the grandson of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, who 65 years ago this month was arrested in France on trumped-up charges of treason, in what became (with Emile Zola's help) the classic example of anti-Semitism in the French army of the day. Motormaker Dreyfus said that his stand on the Israeli contract was strictly business. In four years Renault has sold only 3,800 cars in Israel. "It is not possible for us to sell in the Arab countries and continue the assembly operation in Israel at the same time," he explained, "for reasons that we regret as much as you do yourself."

As soon as Renault made the decision to cancel its Israeli contract, the Arab League struck its name off the blacklist, and the company was free to go ahead with a reported deal to sell Nasser 4,000 cars.

The Arabs' economic blockade of Israel has probably caused Israel more injury than Arab armies did in two wars. It has effectively deterred Israel's plans to set itself up as an industrial nucleus to serve Middle East markets. Such well-known U.S. firms as Philco Corp., Standard Oil (New Jersey), British-Shell and Socony Mobil Oil Co., Inc. have removed themselves from the Arab League blacklist by deciding that doing business in Israel is uneconomic.

The current blacklist, drawn up in Cairo, names 48 American firms. Included are Empire Brushes Inc., Kaiser Industries Corp., Dow Chemical Co. and Plough Sales Corp., because they have branches or agencies in Israel. Individual Arab countries have their own blacklists, which are even more capriciously kept. Philco radios and air conditioners were banned in Saudi Arabia even after the firm's name was removed from the Arab League blacklist. Last February, after Elizabeth Taylor bought $100,000 worth of Israeli bonds, the United Arab Republic banned any further showing of her films in Syria and Egypt. Presumably the boycott will apply even to her next movie announced last week: Cleopatra.

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