T. Belman. For about 1500 years, Europe hounded Jews telling them what they could and could not do. Eventually it brought on the holocaust. They obviously can’t break the habit. The fact that trying to force Israel back to the Auschwitz borders will bring on a second Holocaust is of no moment to them.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says European Union’s move to label products from Judea and Samaria is “highly discriminatory,” could undermine EU-Israel relations • 36 U.S. senators protest, saying plan could “promote a de facto boycott of Israel.”
Shlomo Cesana, Mati Tuchfeld, Edna Adato, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
EU has approved new labeling guidelines for Israeli settlement products | Photo credit: Reuters
The European Union’s executive on Wednesday approved new guidelines for labeling products manufactured in Judea and Samaria differently than those produced in other parts of Israel, a decision it says is technical but which many in Israel say is unacceptable discrimination.
The European Commission “adopted this morning the Interpretative Notice on indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967,” said an EU official.
Drawn up over three years by the European Commission, the guidelines mean Israeli producers must explicitly label farm goods and cosmetics that come from settlements when they are sold in the European Union.
“This is a technical measure, not a political one,” one Commission source who declined to be named said on Tuesday. “The occupied territory is not part of the sovereign state of Israel, so goods cannot be sold as ‘Made in Israel’.”
Britain, Belgium and Denmark already affix labels to Israeli goods, differentiating between those from Israel and those, particularly fruits and vegetables, that come from the Jordan Valley. Now all 28 EU member states would have to apply labels.
While there is no EU official wording, goods must carry the word “settlement” on the label when sold in European shops. If an Israeli farmer refuses, a retail outlet can do so, as the European Commission has sufficient information about where goods come from.
Israel’s ambassador to the European Union, David Walzer, warned it could make difficult peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians harder and the EU might no longer be a welcome broker.
“We made it very clear that we welcome EU contributions to the peace process,” Walzer said before the decision was formalized. “This might force us to reconsider that.”
A second Commission source said the guidelines were requested by EU governments who sought clarity on existing EU labeling rules and that the five page document of some 12 paragraphs did not constitute new legislation.
Since 2004, Israeli settlement products have not benefited from trade preferences to the European Union, while for all countries the EU has agricultural legislation that requires labeling of the origin of fruit, vegetables and honey.
Industrial goods, including processed food, are not subject to mandatory labeling under EU law, but can be voluntary.
Israel’s Economy Ministry estimates the impact will be about $50 million a year, affecting fresh produce such as grapes and dates, wine, poultry, honey, olive oil and cosmetics.
That is around a fifth of the $200-$300 million worth of goods produced in settlements each year, but a drop in the ocean next to the $30 billion of goods and services Israel exports to the EU annually, a third of all its exports.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had recently sent a strongly worded letter to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urging her to thwart the bid.
“Endorsing this initiative will undermine the European Union’s relations with Israel, which are important to both parties,” Netanyahu wrote.
Labeling settlement products is “a political move indicative of the EU’s double standards where Israel is concerned,” he wrote, and “is a highly discriminatory act, which has been avoided in the majority of the other 200 territorial disputes worldwide.”
Similar sentiments were expressed in a bipartisan letter signed by 36 U.S. senators, warning that adopting the measure would “promote a de facto boycott of Israel.”
The letter, the initiative of Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Marco Rubio (R-Florida), was sent to Mogherini on Monday.
“As allies, elected representatives of the American people, and strong supporters of Israel, we urge you not to implement this labeling policy, which appears intended to discourage Europeans from purchasing these products and promote a de facto boycott of Israel, a key ally and the only true democracy in the Middle East. We are also deeply concerned that enacting this policy would lead to the broader boycott of Israel,” the letter read.
“At a time of significant instability in the region, it is deeply concerning to us that the EU is considering a proposal intended to impose more diplomatic and economic pressure on Israel. The proposed labeling guidelines play into the narrative of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, which is an effort to delegitimize Israel rather than promote a resolution of outstanding issues between Israel and the Palestinians. Far from advancing such a resolution, the proposed labeling would prejudge the outcome of future negotiations,” the senators argued.
Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy Minister Gilad Erdan commented on the EU’s move Wednesday, telling Army Radio that Israel would study the decision, but “it may pursue World Trade Organization action against this policy, which is clearly discriminatory against Israel.”
Erdan too noted that product labeling was not used against other countries struggling with territorial disputes, saying, “Judea and Samaria exports to EU nations are on a very small scale, but Israel’s trade with Europe is substantial. This move could have far-reaching ramifications.”
The EU’s failure to disclose how each of its member nations would implement the guidelines “is not just a lack of transparency, it’s cowardice,” Erdan said.
Speaking with Army Radio Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said the decision would impact Israeli manufacturers and European importers alike, but stressed the way by which the measure would be implemented was still unknown.
Moreover, at this time, Israel has no information on the actual nature of the label, Nahshon said.
“Whatever the wording is, it will be bad,” he said. “This might discourage the European consumer from buying anything made in Israel, so it’s a de facto boycott.”
The labeling will include products made “in Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights, east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip — even though we’re no longer there,” he said. Including Gaza Strip products, “even though they [the EU] know perfectly well Israel is no longer there, proves this is a political move.”
Nahshon also criticized what he called the EU’s attempt to force Israel to yield to the Palestinians’ demands by imposing measures not used in any other territorial dispute. This, he said, proves the EU is singling Israel out.
“The actual decision [on product labeling] was made three years ago, and we have been able to put it off, but it might be too late to stop it now. We’ll continue to fight it, of course,” he said.
Nahshon lambasted the EU for trying to impose a move meant to “substitute for the peace talks.” He added that EU policies are skewed.
“We are in the midst of a wave of terrorism and Brussels is giving the Palestinians a prize in the form of product labeling,” he said.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely visited several European capitals this week, including London, Paris, Madrid and Brussels, in a bid to try to dissuade EU officials from backing the move.
“We refuse to subscribe to euphemisms like ‘the consumer has a right to know.’ This move is clearly part of the delegitimization campaign being waged against Israel,” she said.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has reportedly also discussed the issue with British Justice Secretary Michael Gove.
“Product labeling is a blatant example of double standards exercised under the auspices of human rights and international law,” the NGO Monitor group, which promotes accountability and critical analysis of international nongovernmental organizations, said Tuesday.
After the EU decision was announced on Wednesday, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid tweeted, “Jews are being stabbed in the streets & the EU has given in to BDS. This decision discriminates against Israel & encourages terrorism.”
Again the losers, liars and betrayers passing as leaders here in Eretz Israel are whining, posturing, speeching and nothing else.
Proposal:
Start labeling or order the exporters in Europe to label their products sent to Israel.
Germany: Land of the Holocaust
Austria: Hitler’s homeland.
Spain: Inquisition Land.
Etc.
As a source of Schadenfreude, the EU is at the same time committing suicide by incentivizing mass Muslim migration into their countries. It’s the Israeli Left who most fervently worships the EU, continuing to do so even until the EU’s dying days. Sort of like the Mixed Multitude in Egypt during the Exodus, or the Jews who died in the Plague of Darkness in Egypt.
@ ArnoldHarris:
Arnold,
Being the Russophile that you are, I will give this much to Putin – he has been buying the stuff from J & S that the Europeans don’t want.
Just on a broader note – while Putin is an authoritarian, I have to (coyly) admit that I find myself rooting for him in his showdowns with Obama. Objectively, Putin is a nastier guy than Obama, but then Putin is not the one f**king up this country. Obama is.
@ Bear Klein:
In answer to your question:
1) As a matter of fact, I am now about 81.5 years old.
2) I never much thought about Zionism and the Jewish nation until the run-up to the Six Day War in June 1967, when I was already 33 years old. After intensive studies about what Zionism implied, I chose to study modern Hebrew language at what was then the Chicago College of Jewish Studies. It was in a language class there that I met the woman I would marry 2.5 years later. In summer 1972, we began applying for graduate studies grants at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Then we travelled there and were admitted as temporary residents, marked by white circlets around the licence plates of the 1973 VW Beetle that we purchased in Israel.
3) When the Yom Kippur 1973 war began, Stefi and I volunteered to deliver telegrams around Jerusalem, taking the place of other drivers who had been called up for active duty on the two battle fronts. I was then 39 years old.
4) During the year following that war, I was introduced to Dr Israel Eldad by one of his activists, Elyakim HaEtzni. I spent much of late spring and summer studying authentic Zionism with Dr Eldad, who filled in much of the specifics of Zionism that most American Jews ever encounter.
5) Our one-year graduate studies grants having been used up at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Stefi and I terminated our residence in Jerusalem and returned to the USA after a lengthy stay in her home country, the Croatian Republic in former Jugoslavija, with side trips around southern Europe.
6) I was introduced to Rav Meir Kahane after one of his public appearances in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1986. The following year, I met with him privately when he can to Chicago for a public debate with one of the local leaders of liberal Judaism. During his stay in Chicago, the great rav honored me and my family by serving as sandek at the Brit HaMila of our youngest son, Ze’ev Stjepan Harris, at a well-known and well-attended Orthodox Jewish synagogue on Chicago’s north side. Immediately after that, I went to work for Rav Kahane as enditor and publisher of the Kach Newsletter, based on his approval of a concept I had laid out for him. I was also responsible for reorganizing his mailing and phone contact lists for the USA and Canada. I served Rav Kahane until and after his assassination in New York in late 1990, and remained on duty until Kach fell apart based on factionalism.
That’s about the size of it. In any case, I never have claimed to be anything other than the product of the specific influences which have swayed me.
I can only guess about your intent in the questions that you asked me. In any case, I am who and whatI am, and nought else.
Arnold Harris, Outspeaker
Jordan Valley farmers unperturbed by EU labels
Israeli growers say they’ve moved their exports to other markets, notably Russia; Palestinians will suffer most from a boycott
http://www.timesofisrael.com/jordan-valley-farmers-unperturbed-by-eu-labels/
http://www.levhaolam.com/
“Lev HaOlam gives the international community the opportunity to show their support for the Jewish pioneers of Judea and Samaria.”
They have products for sale that are from Judah / Samaria.
Some farmers in the Jordan Valley have started selling elsewhere (Russia, US, Singapore, India) and not so much to Europe Now 20% used to be 80%).
I agree with the Bear that just as Europeons have the right to do business with whom they choose, so does everyone. Personally, I wish I could buy everything I need from Judea and Samaria. There should be an amazon.com knock off based in Judea and Samaria. Also, since The Nations are attempting to use the issue of the future for the Arab residents of Judea and Samaria as a weapon against Israel, I will again briefly summarize one option never before discussed until I brought it up, as follows: The Jewish Communities of Judea ans Samaria study the feasibility of declaring their independence as the second Jewish State. Why must there only be one Jewish state when their are like 22 Arab states and counting. Israel has not done an adequate job defending their lives. Just think, the second Jewish State in the region can recognize the first and visa versa. Israel should know it stands to lose real estate and strategic assets if it continues to flounder. They can compete with one another too. I’m right and that is all there is to it.
The supermarket, which made a big announcement: “Starting today, 11.11.15, all our products are blue and white,” is running a special, 20% off on all the products from Judea and Samaria. And while they were at it, they also pulled the Baracke Tahini brand, made by the Rushdie Food Industries Corporation from the Israeli Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, replacing it with the Har Bracha Tahini.
@ ArnoldHarris:
Arnold when you were younger I know you have said you are really old now did you physically ever do anything for Israel? National Service, volunteer for the IDF, help build a border settlement, do guard duty or anything at all that contributed to the well being of the Jewish State of Israel?
Stop this all-too typical Jewish whining about the unfairness of it all. With the cold-bloodedness that separates winners from losers, go steadily about the business of building a solid base of Jewish national power.
Remember that there is no justice in this world other than what a person, a family, a tribe, a nation, or even an empire can enforce through its manifest power to render havoc unto its enemies. Without such a power base, the Jewish nation will be treated as nothing more than an international kick-me by all the other nations. This is a situation that cannot be rectified without power.
And if you have neither power nor the will to acquire it, then shut your mouths about justice, go hide your faces somewhere, and whimper in private.
That is truly the way the world functions, and that will be the case as long as life survives on this planet.
Arnold Harris, Outspeaker
Any EU Country that will abide by this labeling rules I will personally boycott and encourage others on social media to do the same. I will encourage all friends of Israel to do the same.
Almost all Jewish leaders in the U.S. and Israel are to blame because they agreed that the so-called West Bank is Palestinian and not Israeli. They ignored the Torah. They ignored the Palestine Mandate which is international law. They ignored two recent books proving that legally ALL the land belongs to Israel. These Jewish leaders have convinced the world that the West Bank is Palestinian to be part of the Two State Solution. We thus cannot blame the EU or any others from taking Jewish leaders at their word. Instead of pleading with the EU the true solution is a major change in the corrupt government of Israel.
Industrial goods, including processed food, are not subject to mandatory labeling under EU law, but can be voluntary.
Israel’s Economy Ministry estimates the impact will be about $50 million a year, affecting fresh produce such as grapes and dates, wine, poultry, honey, olive oil and cosmetics.
That is around a fifth of the $200-$300 million worth of goods produced in settlements each year, but a drop in the ocean next to the $30 billion of goods and services Israel exports to the EU annually, a third of all its exports.
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Looks to me that the GOI considers this to have few teeth and that perhaps it is designed to be a lot of noise to satisfy the squeaky wheel BDS crowd with little real effect. Perhaps Israel has agreed to this under the table to let the BDS folks think they are getting somewhere, like the fake pal state.
the 50 million of the 30 billion appears to be about 1.7%…. less than a drop in the bucket for Israel but 20% of settlement eu export. Perhaps we are witnessing a drama already agreed upon that is in fact a pretend storm in a teacup. doesnt Israel have a compensation plan already in place for the settlers.
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Since 2004, Israeli settlement products have not benefited from trade preferences to the European Union, …….
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HUH???????
MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) pointed out that Israel does have some room to make sure the decision does not have disastrous results, because each EU country can decide whether to adopt it or not. “Israel must go from country to country and convince them not to adopt the decision,” she stated. “In order for that to happen, we need the right policy. We must say the prime minister’s policy is really two states, and prove it, so they will understand there is no reason to push us into a corner.”
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Israel-Discriminatory-EU-decision-to-label-settlement-products-may-harm-ties-with-Brussels-432675
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what a pathetic loser Livni is…. it is her policy of “tough Love” which led to these anti semitic euro policies. Leftist Israelis who defame Israel, spread lies, and will do anything including harming Israel to push their ludicrous proposals.
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MK Itzik Shmuly (Zionist Union) said … “residents of Hamburg or Copenhagen do not really understand where the Green Line starts and ends, and the decision will end up leading to a boycott of all of Israel..
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but it is the fake “zionists” who seek to give the Jewish homeland of YS to muslims that are always seeking “tough love” for Israel and spreading libels that are the cause of these boycotts. the fake “zionists” who seek to give jewish land to muslims instead of jews is now whining about the policy and libels they supported…. pretending that they are with Israel rather than in total agreement with the EU
The fake “zionist” union should change its name as it is not properly labeled and is attempting to deceive voters with a fake label.. calling itself “zionist” is a criminal fraud… fraudulent misrepresentation…. as zionist is land for jews and not giving jewish homeland to muslims.
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Conversely, MK Esawi Frej (Meretz) said that the EU decision was the right thing to do, in that it will “allow the Israeli market to rid itself of the painful hunchback of the settlements.”
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the “hunchback” for Jews the world over, including revenge burned and stabbed Israelis, is the Israeli left wing who propagate libels against Israel which end in burned, stabbed and slaughtered Jews. If the Israeli leftists were rid of solutions would proceed which would end the flow of dead Jews resulting from leftist lies.
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MK Youssef Jabareen (Joint List) said the EU made the right decision, because “settlements are illegal according to international law.” He expressed hope that the EU will make it illegal to import settlement products, which he called “the fruits of a poisoned tree.”
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send these 5th columnists to the PA and then make their exports slow to leave Israel, make their economy suffer enough to make them want to leave for europe…. do the oppostie of making their life convenient or successful. they are enemies and should be treated as such…. after all they are not fools as they always treat the Jews as enemies.
My question is why nothing comes from BB. He has had 3 years to prepare for this but we hear of no plans, only rhetoric, if even that. If the west bank is not part of Israel then no euros should be allowed in there and all their west bank offices in a, b and c shoud be closed. Israel should bog down any eu efforts in gaza with beaurocracy. Israel should work covertly with criminal networks to export pals to europe. GOI lawfare is pathetically negligent and incompetent so Shurat ha din should seek a 100 million from adelson and Saban to file suits against eu in the US as violating US boycott laws. also SHD should file suits in europe. Also, outlets in europe should be set up exclusively for the sale of settlement products so that Jews and supporters can identify and buy those products as a form of protest.
Bibi,
Walk the walk.
a) Break diplomatic relations with the EU and expel their ambassador — after you beat the sh*t out of him.
b) Expel all Euronazi propagandists (they call them “journalists”).
c) Break the Horizon 2020 agreement and get the $400 million you will lose from other sources – namely Mr. Adelman.
d) Conduct air raids to sink any oil tankers bringing oil across the Mediterranean to Europe.
e) If necessary, conduct assassinations across Europe of the most virulent Jew-hating Euronazi politicians.
I hope the EU folks will also apply BDS parameters to that vast settlement known as the United States of America. If not, the entire exercise smacks of hypocrisy, and we can’t have that, can we?