Other countries could do this (clears throat.) Israeli anger over S Africa bid to label West Bank settlement goods Vita Bekker, The National (UAE), May 21, 2012 http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/israeli-anger-over-s-africa-bid-to-label-west-bank-settlement-goods
Tel Aviv - The Israeli government lambasted an unprecedented move by South Africa to label all products made in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank before selling them. The South African decision, should it be implemented, would hand a considerable victory to a campaign by Palestinians and their supporters to boycott products made in Jewish settlements. The South African move would be the first time that any country forces companies to inform consumers about which goods were produced in the settlements. Denmark said on Saturday that it may take a similar step and analysts said other European Union countries may also follow suit, possibly hurting Israel's diplomatic ties with western allies and staining Israel's image among consumers in other countries. Economic damage, according to analysts, is negligible since settlements' exports account for less than 2 per cent of Israel's total. Experts say Israel is violating international law by not separately labelling products made within the country's internationally recognised borders and those produced in West Bank settlements. "Israel's placing of a label 'made in Israel' on products made in the West Bank is fraud," said Neve Gordon, an Israeli political scientist and author of the book Israel's Occupation. "The South African decision would force Israel to expose its lie." Last week, the South African government published a statement by Trade Minister Rob Davies saying the state would require merchants "not to incorrectly label products that originate from the Occupied Palestinian Territory as products of Israel." The statement, which did not detail what would be written on labels of settlement-made products, said the goods include some cosmetic brands, technology products and soft drinks. The decision is subject to objections from the public until the end of June. Palestinian officials welcomed South Africa's move. Ghassan Khatib, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, said: "This is based on a proper understanding of the illegality of settlements and their products. We hope that this will be followed by other countries." […] On Saturday, the Danish foreign minister, Villy Sovndal, told the Danish Politiken newspaper that the country would stop labelling products from settlements as ones made in Israel. He said: "This is a step that clearly shows consumers that the products are produced under conditions that not only the Danish government but also European governments do not approve of." -- Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
