They’re referring to the “halo effect” of Apple accepting the claim of antisemitism.
Truthful or not, Apple is sort of an “influencer” when it comes to ethics, with one of the few openly gay CEOs in big tech and a history of doing, or at least claiming to do, the right thing when any negative labor practices are revealed.
I think there is a sense that if Apple is willing to walk away, it’s a signal to other companies that the problem is real.