“The claim that this is a technical matter is cynical and baseless”, the ministry said. He said: “It is not a boycott on the country…”
Advertisement
Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the European Union ambassador to Israel, said the labels were “an indication of origin, not a warning label”.
Supermarkets and other retailers will now be required to mark products made in West Bank and Golan Heights settlements, in addition to those in East Jerusalem, differently from those originating in Israel.
The European Union considers settlements built on territories occupied by Israel in 1967 to be illegal under global law – something Israel disputes.
Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s justice minister, said the EU code is “anti-Jewish” and reflects “European hypocrisy and… hatred of Israel”.
“European hypocrisy and hatred of Israel has crossed every line”, she said.
“But given the reality of the situation, now we don’t necessarily foresee it as happening in the immediate term, that’s not to say that we don’t still support it”.
The two leaders agreed to establish a joint task force that will monitor the implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran and will focus on an increase in us military aid to Israel.
Despite widespread global condemnation, the Israeli government has continued to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Israel, Washington’s chief Middle East ally, is seeking a record $5 billion a year, according to U.S. congressional sources.
The Israeli leader also sought to address the concerns of American Jews, most of whom are not Orthodox, about the hold that Orthodox rabbis have in Israel over issues such as conversion and marriage.
Yet putting a few labels on a small number of Israeli products is hardly a proportionate response to repeated Israeli war crimes, especially given the widespread use of fraud by Israeli exporters to deceive customs officials and retail chains about the origin of their stolen goods. “First of all, Arabs voted for me”, he said.
The comments were mild compared to those of right-wing Israeli politicians.
“We see that once again Israel is singled out for special treatment above all other nations of the world and this is clearly discriminatory and stands in stark contradistinction to the EU’s own mandate to be fair and free of prejudice”, Kantor said. The EU’s guidelines would “constitute the de-facto boycotting of Israel, its economy and commodities, due to the burden on importers to apply and adhere to them”, added the letter. “We believe strongly that these efforts are unwarranted, dangerous, and damaging to the prospects of a negotiated solution to [the Israeli-Palestinian] conflict”, the senators wrote.
European officials flatly reject any accusations of anti-Semitism.
But if shops choose to say where the goods come from, they “must be correct and not misleading”, and can not, for instance, be labelled “made in Israel”.
Advertisement
The prime minister added that no one should doubt “Israel’s determination to defend itself against terror and destruction, and neither should anyone doubt Israel’s willingness to make peace with any of its neighbors that genuinely want to achieve peace with us”.
