This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/world/middleeast/eu-labels-israeli-settlements.html

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
European Union Moves to Label Products From Israeli Settlements European Union Moves to Label Products From Israeli Settlements
(34 minutes later)
LONDON — European regulators issued guidelines on Wednesday for the labeling of consumer products that are made in Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories and sold in the European Union. LONDON — The European Union pushed ahead on Wednesday with rules for labeling consumer goods made in Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, the latest flash point in the increasingly strained relations between Europe and Israel.
European officials insisted the guidelines were not a new policy — merely a clarification of existing rules, made at the request of member countries — but Israeli officials quickly denounced the move as a form of discrimination and summoned the European Union’s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, for a meeting in Jerusalem. Israeli officials say they fear that any requirements that products from the settlements be treated differently would fuel a movement to boycott Israel, its universities and its exports. European officials played down the step, saying the guidelines merely clarified existing rules. But in Israel the move was seen as provocative, discriminatory and intended to fuel a growing international movement to boycott Israel.
The issue has been percolating for years, and Israel has lobbied hard against the labeling requirements. The European Union’s decision to go ahead came against the backdrop of several European countries formally or symbolically recognizing a Palestinian state, actions that have prompted deep unease in Israel.
“This is no way changes our stance with respect to the Middle East peace process,” a spokesman for the European Commission said by telephone, speaking on the condition of anonymity under agency rules. “This in no way affects the agreement we have with Israel with respect to preferential treatment for their products sold in the European Union. All ‘Made in Israel’ products will continue to come into the European Union with very low, or no, tariffs. What will also not change is that products coming from the settlements cannot benefit from those preferences.”
The spokesman added that the European Commission was acting at the behest of member governments and to reconcile conflicting advice. European Union members — Britain in 2009, Denmark in 2013 and Belgium in 2014 — had begun issuing their own guidelines for labeling consumer products from the Palestinian territories.
But Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, condemned the move as “an exceptional and discriminatory step,” especially “when Israel is confronting a wave of terrorism targeting any and all of its citizens.” Israel summoned the European Union’s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, for a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem
“It is puzzling and even irritating that the E.U. chooses to apply a double standard concerning Israel, while ignoring that there are over 200 other territorial disputes worldwide, including those occurring within the E.U. or on its doorstep,” Mr. Nahshon said in a statement. “The claim that this is a technical matter is cynical and baseless.”
The guidelines state that the term “product of Israel” should not be used for goods produced by Israeli businesses and farms in the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, areas that Israel annexed in moves that were never internationally recognized. Nor are labels like “product of West Bank” considered acceptable. Under the rules, the term “settlement” or “its equivalent” must be added — possibly with parentheses, as in “product of West Bank (Israeli settlement).”The guidelines state that the term “product of Israel” should not be used for goods produced by Israeli businesses and farms in the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, areas that Israel annexed in moves that were never internationally recognized. Nor are labels like “product of West Bank” considered acceptable. Under the rules, the term “settlement” or “its equivalent” must be added — possibly with parentheses, as in “product of West Bank (Israeli settlement).”
Non-settlement products from the Palestinian territories can say “product of Palestine” or “product of West Bank (Palestinian product).”Non-settlement products from the Palestinian territories can say “product of Palestine” or “product of West Bank (Palestinian product).”
The labeling rules are mandatory for fresh fruit and vegetables, wine, honey, olive oil, eggs, poultry, organic products and cosmetics. The rules are voluntary for prepackaged foodstuffs and industrial products other than cosmetics.The labeling rules are mandatory for fresh fruit and vegetables, wine, honey, olive oil, eggs, poultry, organic products and cosmetics. The rules are voluntary for prepackaged foodstuffs and industrial products other than cosmetics.
“This is no way changes our stance with respect to the Middle East peace process,” said a spokesman for the European Commission, speaking by telephone on the condition of anonymity under agency rules. “This in no way affects the agreement we have with Israel with respect to preferential treatment for their products sold in the European Union. All ‘Made in Israel’ product will continue to come into the European Union with very low, or no, tariffs. What will also not change is that products coming from the settlements cannot benefit from those preferences.”
The spokesman added that the European Commission was acting at the behest of member governments and to reconcile conflicting advice. Member countries — Britain in 2009, Denmark in 2013 and Belgium in 2014 — had begun issuing their own guidelines for labeling consumer products from the Palestinian territories.
But Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, condemned the move as “an exceptional and discriminatory step,” especially “when Israel is confronting a wave of terrorism targeting any and all of its citizens.”
“It is puzzling and even irritating that the E.U. chooses to apply a double standard concerning Israel, while ignoring that there are over 200 other territorial disputes worldwide, including those occurring within the EU or on its doorstep,” Mr. Nahshon said in a statement. “The claim that this is a technical matter is cynical and baseless.”
He said the labeling was “bound to reinforce” the Palestinians’ “refusal to conduct negotiations with Israel” rather than to advance peace, and that it “may have implications for Israel-E.U. relations.”
“Product labeling will strengthen the radical elements advocating a boycott against Israel and denying Israel’s right to exist, contradicting positions that the E.U. publicly opposes,” he added. “This recent step raises questions regarding the role that the EU aspires to play.”
The guidelines from the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, come after several years of wrangling over the issue. Foreign ministers from a variety of European countries had twice — in 2013, and again in April of this year — urged officials in Brussels to take action on the matter. After the more recent request, Israel’s foreign policy chief, Avigdor Lieberman, denounced the effort, likening it to ordering that a yellow star be slapped onto Israel products, evoking the ones Jews were ordered to wear in Nazi-occupied Europe.The guidelines from the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, come after several years of wrangling over the issue. Foreign ministers from a variety of European countries had twice — in 2013, and again in April of this year — urged officials in Brussels to take action on the matter. After the more recent request, Israel’s foreign policy chief, Avigdor Lieberman, denounced the effort, likening it to ordering that a yellow star be slapped onto Israel products, evoking the ones Jews were ordered to wear in Nazi-occupied Europe.
Avi Roeh, chairman of the settlers’ council, denounced the move, saying in a letter to Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, and in a public statement that thousands of Palestinians work in Israeli businesses in the West Bank, which he described as “islands of peace.” The reaction from Israel to the stinging, if largely symbolic, decision was immediate. Mr. Nahshon, of the foreign ministry, said that “product labeling will strengthen the radical elements advocating a boycott against Israel and denying Israel’s right to exist, contradicting positions that the E.U. publicly opposes.”
Avi Roeh, chairman of the settlers’ council, noted that thousands of Palestinians work in Israeli businesses in the West Bank, which he described as “islands of peace.”
“Businesses like these, in which Arabs and Jews work together, should be used as the gold standard for peace, not boycotted,” he said. “If the E.U. wants to see real coexistence they should come and visit Judea and Samaria, then it would be clear they are labeling the wrong people.”“Businesses like these, in which Arabs and Jews work together, should be used as the gold standard for peace, not boycotted,” he said. “If the E.U. wants to see real coexistence they should come and visit Judea and Samaria, then it would be clear they are labeling the wrong people.”
Vered Ben-Saadon, a co-owner of the Tura Winery in the West Bank settlement of Rechalim and the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, called the move “modern anti-Semitism.”
She added: “Europe, rather than atoning for what it did 70 years ago, is repeating the same ideas. This is how it started 70 years ago, by marking people, products, Jewish stores.”
Palestinians affiliated with the boycott movement welcomed the news, but said it did not go far enough.
“Putting some labels on a small number of Israeli products is hardly a proportionate response to repeated Israeli war crimes,” said Mahmoud Nawajaa, who has called on Europe to ban all dealings with settlement companies and to cut off military assistance and arms sales to Israel.
Mohammed al-Arqawi, a Palestinian union leader, brushed off Israeli officials’ contention that boycotts would harm Palestinian workers in settlement businesses. “We are well aware of this, and call for a boycott because we believe that economic and political pressure is needed to challenge Israel’s ability to deny us our basic rights,” he said. “People who are genuinely concerned about Palestinian workers should take action to end Israel’s deliberate destruction of the Palestinian economy and its exploitation and oppression of our people.”
The European Union is Israel’s top trading partner, with total commerce estimated at 30 billion euros, or $32 billion, last year: €13 billion in imports from Israel and €17 billion in exports to Israel. There are no official European statistics relating to the import of goods from Israeli settlements, but such goods are believed to represent less than 1 percent of the total trade.The European Union is Israel’s top trading partner, with total commerce estimated at 30 billion euros, or $32 billion, last year: €13 billion in imports from Israel and €17 billion in exports to Israel. There are no official European statistics relating to the import of goods from Israeli settlements, but such goods are believed to represent less than 1 percent of the total trade.
The labeling rules affect about products from 1,000 companies operating in more than a dozen industrial areas in West Bank settlements, as well as produce from roughly 23,000 acres of farmland. The Golan has many wineries whose products are widely exported and have won international awards.The labeling rules affect about products from 1,000 companies operating in more than a dozen industrial areas in West Bank settlements, as well as produce from roughly 23,000 acres of farmland. The Golan has many wineries whose products are widely exported and have won international awards.
Since 2003, the European Union has coded Israeli products to allow customers to distinguish between those made within its 1948 borders and those beyond, but the new labeling guidelines would make that distinction more apparent.Since 2003, the European Union has coded Israeli products to allow customers to distinguish between those made within its 1948 borders and those beyond, but the new labeling guidelines would make that distinction more apparent.
Over the past six months, as the guidelines have come closer to finalization, and amid reports of Israeli academics facing slights from colleagues and a Palestinian effort to suspend Israel’s soccer teams from international competition, Israel has taken a much more aggressive stance against boycotts. The foreign ministry, as well as Israel’s industrial association, have designated point people to work solely to counter boycott movements, and politicians of all stripes have denounced any such campaign as immoral and anti-Semitic. Over the past six months, as the guidelines have come closer to finalization, and amid reports of Israeli academics facing slights from colleagues and a Palestinian effort to suspend Israel’s soccer teams from international competition, Israel has taken a much more aggressive stance against boycotts. The foreign ministry, as well as Israel’s industrial association, have designated people to work solely to counter boycott movements, and politicians of all stripes have denounced any such campaign as immoral and anti-Semitic.
The controversy has also attracted notice in the United States. On Monday, 36 senators — led by Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate from Texas, and Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York — wrote to Ms. Mogherini to express concern about the labeling initiative. The senators called it a “troubling precedent” that would help the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which they called “an effort to delegitimize Israel rather than promote a resolution of outstanding issues between Israel and the Palestinians.”The controversy has also attracted notice in the United States. On Monday, 36 senators — led by Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate from Texas, and Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York — wrote to Ms. Mogherini to express concern about the labeling initiative. The senators called it a “troubling precedent” that would help the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which they called “an effort to delegitimize Israel rather than promote a resolution of outstanding issues between Israel and the Palestinians.”
But Human Rights Watch encouraged other countries to follow the European Union’s lead in labeling, suggesting it was their duty to ensure compliance with international law. “Labeling products produced in Israeli settlements gives businesses and consumers the information they need to avoid supporting industries that contribute to violations of human rights,” said Sarah Saadoun, a researcher at the group.But Human Rights Watch encouraged other countries to follow the European Union’s lead in labeling, suggesting it was their duty to ensure compliance with international law. “Labeling products produced in Israeli settlements gives businesses and consumers the information they need to avoid supporting industries that contribute to violations of human rights,” said Sarah Saadoun, a researcher at the group.