The 27 nations affiliated with the European Union (EU) are moving ahead with an economic boycott targeting goods originating in “occupied areas”, communities throughout Yehuda, Shomron, the Jordan Valley and Golan Heights, Dir Spiegel reports.
The report adds the EU community is disappointed with the outcome of the elections in Israel, explaining that while the liberal parties may be in the ruling coalition, the settlers will have a significant voice too and this the EU community finds objectionable. This reality, the fact that Bayit HaYehudi earned 12 seats, has Brussels concerned for it is very possible that members of that party will be appointed as cabinet ministers.
In his reference to the Golan Heights community of Katzrin, Christoph Schult writes “The international community has never recognized Israeli sovereignty over these areas, and the Geneva Convention outlaws the establishment of settlements within occupied territories. Nevertheless, successive Israeli governments have allowed colonies to be built up within them and, today, some 650,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”
At a meeting in December, the foreign ministers of the EU’s 27 member states reiterated “their commitment to ensure continued, full and effective implementation of existing European Union legislation and bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products.”
EU officials admit that despite EU Council Regulation 1234/2007 addressing labeling of products and other regulations, it is difficult to verify product origin at times, such as wine, which originates in the Golan Heights and is imported to Germany by Champagner und Wein Distributionsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, a company based in the northern German state of in Schleswig-Holstein. The problem is even more difficult regarding produce, and at present, they are looking into dates exported from the Jordan Valley.
Another item involved in dispute is Ahava Dead Sea products, which are marked “Dead Sea” but the EU says in actuality, they are manufactured in “an area nearby, in the West Bank”, so the boycott effort seeks to include Ahava products.
Proponents of the boycott are frustrated as many companies such as the Galeria Kaufhof department store chain seem to turn a blind eye in the interest of reaping the profits of these products.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
5 Responses
This is the same small group of anti-semitic European Islamists who will seek to cloak their hatred of yidden and EY in terms of empathy for the “plight” of the Palestinians and the need to punish EY for their continued “occupation” of the West Bank. They have consistently ignored the failure of the Palestinians to honor their committments under prior peace agreements and will blame EY no matter what the facts may be.
They need to mind their own business. Their countries are fouled up. Let them correct their own problems before they start telling us what to do. Change yourself and you change the world.
Their parents and grandparents were\are nazi supporters, Nazi sympathizers, anti~semites so they follow n the family footsteps! Time for us to use our Jewish dollars, euros, pound sterling effectively to punish countries that conspire against the Jewish State of Israel!
This is almost laughable. Has anyone checked the map of Europe over the past 200 years? How many times have the borders changed because of war? How many countries have been “occupied”?
i agree with davidtrepp. let us begin a compaign to support the companies from these areas like never before. please make available the produts that are produced there. thanks