174 i n t e r n a t i o n a l f a c t o r s
It is, however, essential to recognize that issues such as trade opportu-
nities, energy security, and expatriate laborers became prominent only in
the wake of the oil crisis. They signifi cantly contributed to the consolida-
tion of India’s pro- Arab policy but were not its foundations. The harden-
ing of India’s policy in the 1970s was linked to the economic dimensions
of Indo- Arab relations. But their actual role in the formulation of India’s
policy, especially when Nehru deferred the normalization decision in
early 1952, was minimal. Although economic arguments strengthened
the status quo, they were not the root cause.
But this assessment is not true for the Arab threat of po liti cal and eco-
nomic boycott, which adversely aff ected Israel’s po liti cal fortunes, sus-
tained its prolonged international isolation, and undermined economic
progress.^41 These boycotts infl uenced Israel’s bilateral relations with a
number of countries and regional forums. Through the eff ective use of
boycotts, Arab countries infl uenced and at times radically altered the poli-
cies of a number of countries. Even the United Nations was not free from
such pressure tactics. The Arab demand, for instance, compelled Israel to
seek membership in other regional groupings even though it resides in
the Asian or East Mediterranean zone. This was more acute during the
cold war. Since the regional headquarters of various UN bodies and agen-
cies such as the Food and Agriculture Or ga ni za tion (FAO); International
Civil Aviation Or ga ni za tion (ICAO); United Nations Educational, Scien-
tifi c, and Cultural Or ga ni za tion (UNESCO); and World Health Or ga ni za-
tion (WHO) were situated in Cairo, their ser vices were long denied to Is-
rael.^42 Enlarging the scope of its po liti cal boycott, on May 19, 1951, the Arab
League declared that its members “would not boycott international con-
ferences of which Israel was a member but would not participate in or
would seek to have Israel excluded from regional conferences called by
one country and would not give Israeli delegations visas to participate at
such conferences in any Arab country.”^43 This proved fatal when Indone-
sia hosted the Afro- Asian conference in Bandung, in 1955. For the same
reason, for de cades, Israel was not attached to any regional groupings in
the United Nations and thus was ineligible for election to the Security
Council.^44
The economic dimension of the Arab boycott predates not only the
formation of the state of Israel but also the establishment of the British
Mandate over Palestine.^45 The earliest Arab boycott can be traced to 1908,
when the Arab newspaper al- Asmai called for the boycott of Jewish
goods.^46 The formation of Israel radically altered the nature and scope of
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