As fighting against Hamas continues in Gaza, Israeli exporters are reporting that some customers are postponing or cancelling deals.
Industrial and dental tool maker Strauss & co. Industrial Diamonds received a letter yesterday from a customer in Turkey, who declined to purchase equipment due to the fighting in Gaza. "We cannot sell Israeli products because of the cruel attacks by Israel in Gaza", wrote an executive at Turkish company Guloguz to his Israeli counterpart.
Strauss & co.'s sales manager told "Globes" today that the response from most of the world were reasonable, and showed understanding of the difference between Palestinians and Hamas, but that in Turkey, a Moslem country with 72 million inhabitants, things look different.
In recent weeks, the Arabic-language media has tried a campaign to brainwash viewers into thinking that Israel is deliberately targeting civilians. Screens showing footage of Israeli tanks on one side, and wounded children on the other, are interspersed among news items on the. The result is clear and may have repercussions beyond the economic fallout. Last week, shots were fired at IDF soldiers near the border with Syria and Jordan, and last month a Palestinian fired toward Israelis in a shopping mall in Denmark.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 15, 2009
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