In response to the announcement Thursday by French-based cell phone company Orange that it wants to cut ties with Partner, the Israeli company that franchises its name in the Jewish state, Partner is considering launching a massive lawsuit against the company.
Billionaire Haim Saban, the US-based majority shareholder of Partner, told Channel 2 on Thursday night that Orange "gave in to pressure from all sorts of anti-Semitic bodies. In every generation they rise against us to destroy us; we are strong and we will be unified and fight against them."
The flare-up started on Wednesday, when Orange CEO Stephane Richard said in Cairo that he wanted to "dump" Israel "tomorrow" if he could.
Given that Orange is partially publicly owned by the French government, Saban noted that "the French government should have gotten up and said its piece, and announce that it is completely disconnected from the statements of the Orange CEO."
Speaking to Yediot Aharonoth, Saban explained that "Partner is completely an Israeli company. We signed a contract with them and we are considering our steps in response to the declaration." » | Ari Yashar | Thursday, June 04, 2015
