Israel Matzav

Obama's got Israel's back: US approves of European labeling of 'settlement products'?

According to the Netherlands' ambassador to Israel, Caspar Veldkamp, the United States has made no effort to stop the European Union from labeling products from Judea and Samara as 'settlement products,' and apparently approves of the effort to keep those products away from European consumers.

He spoke with reporters at his Herzliya home on Wednesday about Israel’s economic and diplomatic relationship with the Netherlands; but a portion of the conversation dealt with his country’s vocal support for the labeling of West Bank settlement products.

Veldkamp explained that this initiative has wide support in the European Union and even tacit approval from the Americans.

“The United States did not discourage us from this direction,” he said.

The Netherlands’ Ministry of Economic Affairs has already drafted advice for merchants and retailers, including supermarkets that want to mark West Bank settlement products. But it still needs to be approved by a council of ministers.

The draft advice has been put on hold, however, pending the publication of EU legal guidelines on how best to issue such consumer labels.

Last week, the Dutch foreign minister was among 13 of his European counterparts to sign a letter to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in support of labeling.

...

“Being a friend of Israel does not mean that you always agree with the government position,” he said. “The Netherlands is one of the more Israeli friendly countries in Europe.”

The two countries have very strong trade ties, he said. It comes in second, after the United Kingdom, as an export destination in Europe for Israeli products, he said.

“It is the only EU member state that has blacklisted Hezbollah,” he said, and added that it is pushing others in the EU to do so as well.

 Friends don't make friends expose themselves to terror. That's what a 'Palestinian state' would mean for us.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, BDS, European Union, settlement product boycott, US support for Israel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:24 AM