In a ruling released last week, an advisor to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg by Advocate-General Yves Bot ruled that products manufactured in “settlements” and PA (Palestinian Authority) autonomous areas are not entitled to customs benefits.
In this case, the ruling was made in reference to a shipment from the Soda Club and Brita Companies, products manufactured in Mishur Adumim, the industrial zone of Maale Adumim, viewed by the European community [and the United States] as “occupied territories”.
The items in question arrived in the Port of Hamburg, marked as “Israel” being the source of origin, but the ruling stated otherwise. While the goods received provisional customs benefits, pending an investigation into the origin, as is the practice with goods arriving from Israel, goods originating in the “West Bank”, Golan Heights, [previously Gaza] and the eastern capital are not are not viewed as originating in “Israel”.
Brita was ordered to pay the tariff as a result, but the company rejected the ruling, appealing to the Hamburg Finance Court. The recommendation to the court was to reject the Brita appeal and demand €20,000 in tariff fees. While the court has the option of rejecting the recommendation, this would be most unlikely and the enforcement of the “occupied territories” ruling will have a profound impact on exports originating from the areas mentioned, delivering a serious blow to the firms operating in those areas.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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4 Responses
Eisav Soinay Leyaakov
If the European anti-semites want to play dirty, all these companies in Yehuda, Shomron, and Golan should open an office somewhere inside the “green line”, i.e. pre-’67 border, and use that as the only registered adddress of the company. WAKE UP YIDDEN all over the world, this is just the beginning of a wave of anti-semitism raising its dangerous head ALL over the world. We must make our plans to go HOME now, while we still can!
The Israelis could (but probably won’t) retaliate by announcing that the various treaties are intellectual property won’t be enforced against West Bank countries. Remember that Israel’s prominence in pharmaceuticals traces back to their self-help “licensing” of the intellectual property of country’s that were boycotting.
Is there any way we can help these yiden by having these products imported here into the U.S. (before B.H.O. manages to make a U.S. boycott) and start really patronizing them in a strong way – without, of course, jeopordizing our local factories. ( notice there is a great abundance ba”h of ISRAELI products sold in our supermarkets, so there must be a way in which this can work specifically for the yv”sh produce as well.)
At the same time we should stage a massive nationwide outcry for everyone, including non-Jews who are sympathetic to our cause, to completely boycott all products from these people who are accopmlices to the Palestinian murderers, who shamelessly trumpet their bloody taunts constanly from the very ground that soaked up the greatest amount of innocent Jewish blood in the Holocaust of WWII.
Although “hayadayim yedei eisav” is NOT the way that yiden should ever conduct themselves, I believe that we have no chiyuv to sit by idly whist the world’s worst anti-semites ym”s boycott our worthy brethren. We have every right to respond in a non-violent way. And we should – “lo taamod at dam reyacha”.