Fears That More Countries Will Join Settlement Boycott

[Purveyor]

20 May 12 19:08, Yuval Azulai and Lilach Weissman

The Manufacturers Association of Israel and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor are afraid that the discrimination against Israeli goods produced in West Bank settlements will spread. Over the weekend, South African Minister of Trade and Industry Dr. Rob Davies announced that goods produced in Israeli settlements would carry special labels. Danish Foreign Minister Villy Sovndal also announced Israeli goods originating in the West Bank imported by Denmark will from now on carry a special label.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Shalom Simhon told "Globes" today, "Exports of goods produced by Israeli enterprises beyond the Green Line are a negligible proportion of total Israeli exports. However, I am deeply concerned of a chain reaction that will cause other countries to follow the South African initiative. At the moment, I believe that this is a single initiative."

Leading manufacturers told "Globes" that the value of goods exported from enterprises in Judea and Samaria total tens of millions of dollars annually, a negligible proportion of Israel's $46 billion in annual export of goods.

However, the manufacturers said that the initiative by the South African government raises deep concerns that it will inspire other countries to follow suit.

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http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000750436&fid=1725

[azurnoir]

1. But it's not a boycott the products will still be availible for sale

the label will simply accurately say where the products are being produced, nothing more, nothing less apparently some in Israel fear this or don't want honest labeling, why?

[oberliner]

2. Weird headline

The word boycott does not appear anywhere in the article.

[shaayecanaan]

3. The UK has had this position for quite a while

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/10/guidance-labelling-food-israeli-settlements

Until now, food has been simply labelled "Produce of the West Bank", but the new, voluntary guidance issued by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), says labels could give more precise information, like "Israeli settlement produce" or "Palestinian produce".

Nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which were conquered in the 1967 war. The British government and the EU have repeatedly said Israel's settlement project is an "obstacle to peace" in the Middle East.

EU law already requires a distinction to be made between goods originating in Israel and those from the occupied territories, though pro-Palestinian campaigners say this is not always observed.

Separately, Defra said that traders would be committing an offence if they did declare produce from the occupied territories as "Produce of Israel".

[LeftishBrit]

4. This isn't a boycott

It's just labelling the products. Some people may choose not to buy them, but they could do that with regard to other countries and regions too. Many/most products are labelled as to where they come from; and some people, for example, choose to give preference to products from their own country over imports. The labellers are not directly organizing a boycott.

And it's not about Israeli products in general; just those from the settlements.

[Scurrilous]

5. Irish Israel boycott proposal 'cynical and hypocritical'

<snip>

"Jewish leaders have criticised the Irish foreign minister for a "cynical" call to boycott some Israeli goods.

Eamon Gilmore said that he might push the European Union to block goods produced in the West Bank, in order to pressure the Israeli government into making policy changes.

He said that settlements made "the achievement of a two-state solution in the Middle East impossible" and said that if there was no change on the matter "we may have to look at some additional measures>"

<snip>

"Mr Gilmore's comments coincided with decisions taken in Denmark and South Africa requiring products made in West Bank communities to be specifically labelled as such."

http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/67944/irish-israel-boycott-proposal-cynical-and-hypocritical