Israel Matzav: South Africa, Denmark won't label Judea and Samaria products 'made in Israel'

Sunday, May 20, 2012

South Africa, Denmark won't label Judea and Samaria products 'made in Israel'

Both South Africa and Denmark (Hat Tip: Bad Blue) have announced that they will no longer label products made in Judea and Samaria as 'made in Israel.' This is from the first link.

In a statement published last week in the governmental gazette, Trade Minister Rob Davies declared that consumers in South Africa should not be misled into believing that products originating from the “Occupied Palestinian Territories” originate from Israel.

The minister specified in his note some “misleading labeled products” as “Ahava products, and other cosmetic brands, technology and soft drinks.”

Israel reacted furiously to the South African announcement, which the Foreign Ministry said was the first of its kind in the world. Spokesman Paul Hirschson said the ministry would call in the South African ambassador to protest the move.

“The singling out of one side of one conflict out of all the conflicts in the world is verging on racism,” he said, adding that “this is sad coming from South Africa, which should know better.”

Well, yes, but there is a second country as well. This comes from the second link.

Denmark is planning to ban labeling products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank as "Made in Israel," the foreign minister told Danish media on Saturday. The move follows reports of similar plans announced this month by South Africa's government.

“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,” Foreign Minister Villy Søvndal Søvndal told Politiken newspaper. “It will then be up to consumers whether they choose to buy the products or not.

A source in Brussels familiar with the matter told Haaretz that it is still unclear whether the move is a recommendation or a new directive.

In late 2009, the U.K. government recommended West Bank products be labeled separately.

And who is most likely to suffer from all this high minded behavior? You guessed it, the 'Palestinians.'

Ironically, those who would get harmed the most by the move are some 15,000 Palestinian workers who are employed in these factories and depend on them to make a living.

"Of course I am worried, but first and foremost I am concerned about my workers, who will be the first to get hit; there are thousands of employees here that are getting conditions that they won't get anywhere else in the Palestinian Authority, and if costs are cut because of the boycott, they will be the first to get fired," said a manager of a factory located in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

The manager noted that he successfully handled boycott attempts in the past, but this time the situation is more worrisome: "They always make it difficult for us, and up until now the workers couldn’t care less; ideology is a nice thing, but eventually economic interests prevail. This time we must stop the [tidal] wave.

"The workers and myself are in the same mind that there should be a political agreement at the highest echelons, even if it is secret, that would prevent these boycotts," he added.

Here's a copy of the South African notice.