Wiesenthal Center Won’t Urge Boycott of Ikea Chain

In a move that defused a potential conflict with a Jewish human rights organization, furniture chain Ikea said Tuesday that it is now looking for opportunities to establish a store in Israel.

In response, the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles said it decided against calling for a boycott against Ikea. The center had threatened such action because it suspected the company of involvement in an Arab-sponsored boycott against Israel.

The center began looking into the Swedish company’s practices in the wake of revelations that Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad associated with pro-Nazi groups in the 1940s and ‘50s--ties Kamprad has called a “mistake of misguided youth.”

Ikea owns about 100 stores worldwide, none of them in Israel. The center has said that Ikea may have avoided commercial involvement in Israel despite possible opportunities. Until Tuesday, Ikea had said it had no plans to set up shop in Israel.

In a letter to the center Tuesday, Ikea President Anders Moberg reiterated that his company had not participated in the Arab boycott, adding that “investigations are being made for the establishment in Israel of an Ikea store under franchise.”

“Ikea has been very responsive,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Wiesenthal Center.