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'made in israel?' west bank settlement products come underincreasing scrutiny by 123wert sdfsf
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'made in israel?' west bank settlement products come underincreasing scrutiny by 123WERT SDFSF
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| Article Posted: 12/02/2013 |
| Article Views: 134 |
| Articles Written: 2217 - MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHOR |
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'made in israel?' west bank settlement products come underincreasing scrutiny |
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Business,Business News,Business Opportunities
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JERUSALEM – For decades, Israel has marketed an array of cosmetics and foodproducts manufactured in the occupied West Bank as "Made inIsrael," blurring their true origins in Jewish settlements opposedby virtually the entire international community. Now that practice is being challenged with demands that productsmade in the settlements be labeled accordingly. Recent criticism, coming most prominently from South Africa, isputting Israel in a bind over the muddle it has created in the WestBank: Despite 45 years of control and a massive and costly effortto settle it with Jews, Israel has never annexed the territory— and the Palestinians claim it for a future state. The limbo yields some bewildering results, such as Jewish settlerscasting ballots in home communities not in Israel proper despitethere being no provision for absentee voting. Asked to explain the "Made in Israel" label for products madeoutside Israeli territory, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmorreached for an unorthodox defense, arguing that it is not intendedas a geographical indication.
"My point is not the sovereignty over the West Bank, but who is theauthority that has supervised the product," Palmor told TheAssociated Press. "Since the products of the settlements are madeunder Israeli regulations and standards, they are 'made inIsrael.'" He said there were other cases of contestable labeling, includingby the Palestinians who label products from parts of the West Bankgoverned by the Palestinian Authority as "Made in Palestine." Thereis formally no state of Palestine, he noted. The Palestinians have long called for a boycott of goods made inIsraeli settlements and even have lit bonfires to destroy them. "We are calling for boycotting the Israeli products simply becausethe Israelis shouldn't benefit from occupying our land and ourpeople," said boycott activist Murad Sudani, who heads thePalestinian Writers Union. Several weeks ago, South Africa issued a notice saying it wants torequire merchants "not to incorrectly label products that originatefrom the Occupied Palestinian Territory as products of Israel." Itsaid consumers should not be "misled" that the products originatedin Israel.
The notice did not specify what the label should say, saying "theburden for proving where the products originate will lie withtraders." The proposal has not taken effect, pending a 60-dayperiod for public objections that can be submitted by the end ofJune. South Africa is not a major market for Israel. Nonetheless, the voice of the South African government could be asymbolic boost to the Palestinians, given the country's history ofovercoming apartheid and its leading role in the developing world.It would become the first country to require distinct labeling ofsettlement goods. Others have begun to move in the same direction.
Danish authorities said this week they would soon introducelabeling guidelines for settlement products. Erik Jepsen, spokesmanfor the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, said Thursdaythat the rules would be mandatory for fruit and vegetables andvoluntary for other products. Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal said the government wants toraise awareness about the settlements, which the EU considers amajor obstacle to Mideast peace. The move follows a British decision in 2009 to allow retailers todistinguish whether West Bank goods are produced by Palestinians orIsraeli settlers.
It was not clear if there were cases in whichthis was done. This week, Swiss supermarket chain Migros said it would tell itscustomers if products come from the settlements. The chain said itopposes calls to boycott Israeli products but wanted to offercustomers greater transparency. Previously, it identified productsas coming from Israel. In perhaps the strongest international stance against thesettlements, the European Union has excluded settlement goods fromduty-free status given to other Israeli imports.
Yigal Dilmoni, a settler leader, said the criticism is unfair. "Allthe communities in Judea and Samaria are part of the state ofIsrael," he said, using the biblical terms for the West Bank. "Soof course these products are made in Israel." Settlement products account for less than 1 percent of Israel'sexports of some $50 billion a year, according to the Manufacturers'Association of Israel. Dead Sea cosmetics, high-end wines and dates are some of theproducts produced in the West Bank.
Many of the businesses employPalestinian laborers. "We think that politics and economics shouldn't be mixed up. Thereis good economic cooperation with the Palestinians," said DanCatarivas, director of the Manufacturers' Association's Division ofForeign Trade and International Relations. Palmor said Israel is being unfairly singled out, claiming goodsfrom other conflict zones don't face similar scrutiny. Morocco, forexample, exports tomatoes from the disputed Western Sahara with a"Morocco" label.
The Palestinians seek all of the West Bank and neighboring eastJerusalem as parts of a future state. Israel captured the two areasin the 1967 Mideast war. Although Israel has annexed east Jerusalem, the internationalcommunity considers both territories to be occupied and opposes thepresence of the 500,000 Jews living in the two areas. Peace talks have been stalled for more than three years, with thePalestinians refusing to restart negotiations until Israel stopsall construction in the settlements. Israel says peace talks shouldresume without any preconditions.
____ Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, Menelaos Hadjicostis inNicosia, Cyprus, Paul Schemm in Rabat, Morocco, and Dan Perry andAmy Teibel in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Federman can befollowed at /joseffederman. I am an expert from Furniture & Furnishings, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as incy wincy spider , italian cypress trees.
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