Pharma giant adds Israel to list of Middle East markets after omission raises questions
Johnson & Johnson has added Israel to its directory of global markets on the company's order management website after sparking questions over why the list included "Palestine" and not the Jewish state.
The health care giant’s Customer Connect website states that it is an order management tool for the company’s direct customers and distributors in the North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions and markets.
Johnson & Johnson’s "Middle East" section lists "Palestine" among 20 markets, including Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. When Fox News Digital checked the site on Sunday morning, there was no option for Israel.
When asked about why Israel was omitted from the site, a company spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the tool isn't used for all markets, and those customers in markets not listed, including Israel, use a different method to order products from Johnson & Johnson.
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"The J&J Customer Connect portal is an order management tool for many but not all markets – it is not a list of all markets or regions where the Company operates or where products are sold," a company spokesperson said. "If a market is not listed on the site, it simply means that a different method of ordering is used in that market."
After Fox News Digital's inquiry and receiving questions from elsewhere about the exclusion of Israel, the spokesperson said Israel has been added to the site to clarify how customers in this market order products from Johnson & Johnson.
Johnson & Johnson was among dozens of companies that condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and spoke out against antisemitism, according to a list of companies compiled by Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld at the Yale School of Management. The company said it also donated $2 million to support humanitarian relief following the attack.
Elsewhere on the Johnson & Johnson website, a timeline that depicts the company’s "pioneering role" in the health care field from 1860 to present day shows that it opened its first operating company in Israel in 1996.
"In Israel, Johnson & Johnson has four sub-companies, all of which are guided by the Johnson & Johnson’s CREDO and its values," the company states on its "Careers in Israel" webpage. "We proudly employ over 1,000 employees across the country."
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The Oct. 7 terror attack also sparked a wave of antisemitism on university campuses across the U.S., escalating in recent weeks to see student protesters and outside agitators overtaking college campuses and demanding that universities divest from Israel.