Daily Alert Archives

Israeli Winery at Center of EU Court Ruling on Labeling Refuses to Back Down

(JNS) Josh Hasten - The European Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled that foodstuffs originating in "territories occupied by the State of Israel" cannot be labeled as "made in Israel." The ECJ ruling comes following a lawsuit levied by the Psagot Winery against the French government in 2017, after France announced that it would label Israeli-imported products manufactured in those areas. Psagot Winery CEO Yaakov Berg says, "The winery...intends to continue the struggle....As Israeli citizens, living in a community that has been approved by the Israeli government, we only wish to produce and export high standard wine that has earned its reputation worldwide." The winery produces nearly 400,000 bottles a year. "We are not going to accept a double standard between Israel and the rest of the world. No other country which has territorial disputes has their products labeled, and we won't accept it." Brooke Goldstein, executive director of the Lawfare Project, said that if the EU treats Israeli products differently than any other product imported, then it is clear discrimination based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism as "[a]pplying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation."
2019-11-14 00:00:00
Full Article