viewpoints >> Send letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com DETROIT JEWISH NEWS theJEWISHNEWS.com Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher / Executive Editor ahorwitz@renmedia.us essay F. Kevin Browett Chief Operating Officer kbrowett@renmedia.us Europe's Labeling Plan Demonizes Israel Editorial F Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl rom its timing to its merit, the A CLOSER LOOK It's disconcerting the E.U. labeling push European Commission (E.C.) deci- The E.U.-Israel free trade agreement arose amid a wave of Palestinian-inspired sion to require labeling of selected excludes products from Jewish settle- stabbing, shooting and car-ramming ter- goods exported to Europe by producers ments in the West Bank, from the Golan rorist attacks against Israeli civilians and Heights in northern Israel and from the working from land "under Israeli occupa- soldiers. While clearly a protest of Israel's tion" is a political travesty. Arab-dominated eastern sector of settlement policies, labeling unwittingly helps legitimize the Palestinian bid to The Nov. 11 decision to impose Jerusalem. labeling guidelines discriminates. M ill The West Bank, part of Eretz gain international recognition outside of It isolates Israel for special label- Yisrael, the biblical Land of Israel, direct bilateral negotiations with Israel. ing despite "200 territorial dis- is disputed territory subject to a The E.U. shelved the guidelines in 2013 putes taking place today around negotiated agreement between at the request of the U.S., but resurrected the world," according to the Israel and recognized Palestinian their processing once it was clear an Israeli Foreign Ministry. leadership. Israel maintains a accord wasn't imminent. The Israeli Foreign Ministry punctu- What's more, the guidelines military presence there to defend reflect the spirit of the Boycott, against Palestinian terror. Jews ates that such labeling will hinder, not Robert S klar Divestment and Sanctions have a fundamental and histori- advance, a two-state solution — a solu- Contribut ing movement against Israel. The cal claim to residing in the West tion the E.U. supports. Labeling, argues Editor pro-Palestinian movement seeks Bank — and their larger settle- the ministry, "will strengthen the radical to delegitimize the Israeli gov- ments are sure to be part of any elements who are pushing for boycotts ernment and blame it for the Palestinian final peace accord. against Israel and who deny its right to In 1980, Israel annexed the militarily people's ills. exist, positions which the E.U. claims it The guidelines also jeopardize the frag- strategic Golan Heights, which it seized objects to. The latest move raises ques- ile arrangement that enables thousands from Syria in the 1967 war. Israel united tions over the role the E.U. wishes to play, of Palestinians to work in "Israeli settle- Jerusalem, the ancestral capital of the and may have consequences on relations ment" jobs. Jewish people, in the same war. between Israel and the E.U." The Brussels-based E.C. is the executive The E.U., Israel's largest trade partner, The move, and the stigma created by it, arm of the European Union and 28 mem- claims the "Israeli settlement" designation could well ignite a full-bore E.U. boycott ber states. The E.U., driven by Europe's is a technical change to inform European of all Israeli goods. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin anti-Semitic undercurrents, doesn't rec- consumers of place of origin, as required ognize Israeli control beyond the Jewish by E.U. law. It insists the move won't Netanyahu, invoking the effects of 1930s state's borders before the Six-Day War of impact European trade with Israel. West Nazi Germany, put it back in September: 1967. Bank settlement products account for less "We have historical memory of what hap- than 2 percent of Israel's $14 billion in pened when Europe labeled Jewish prod- exports to Europe each year, according to ucts:' * the Associated Press. Israel's economy may HISTORY : not suffer by the export Me. WORLD WAR 3 dropoff, but Palestinian workers will. The West FIRST THEY TO BE A Bank contains 14 Israeli MADE IT SEW IN industrial and agricultural DANGEROUS FRANCE parks, including 800 facto- ries and businesses employ- ing 11,000 Palestinian workers alongside 6,000 The European Parliament passed the Israelis. Thousands more Palestinians earn a living labeling guidelines in September. They cover agricultural goods, wine, honey, via secondary services olive oil and cosmetics when produced provided to the Israeli fac- in the West Bank, east Jerusalem or tories, according to Beit the Golan Heights — together home Shemesh-based United with Israel. to 600,000 Jews. Labeling must specify THEN THEY whether Palestinians or Israelis did the MADE IT THE BIGGER PICTURE actual work. DANGEROUS Even Israeli left-wingers like opposition Only Belgium, Denmark leader Isaac Herzog have joined Prime and the United Kingdom Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right- previously labeled "Israeli wing government in denouncing the E.C. settlement" goods. Sanctions for ignoring decision. President Barack Obama's sup- port of the labeling underscores the com- labeling are mandated bative U.S. administration position that although strict enforcement the "Israel-occupied settlements" aren't isn't likely, according to the E.U. part of Israel. 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