mkrishnan
Dec 10, 2009, 04:15 PM
This week, the UK government is asking that produce imported from Israel clarify whether it is produced in the context of their settlements in Palestinian territory, which are viewed as unlawful by many outside Israel.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260447411794&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Israeli officials reacted angrily Thursday night to a British decision to advise retailers and importers to distinguish on labels whether imported produce from the West Bank is being made in the settlements or by Palestinians.
According to a statement released by the British Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, "Importers, retailers, NGOs and consumers have asked the Government for clarity over the precise origin of products from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The label 'West Bank' does not allow consumers to distinguish between goods originating from Palestinian producers and goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements."
NPR here in the US brought up the same issue in the context of wine -- wine sold out of vintners in Israel and consumed in the US is marked "Made in Israel" without any discussion of whether the winery is in occupied land, and oftentimes vintners make wine in both occupied land and undisputed Israeli territory.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120845694
There are now well over 200 wineries in the region, most of them boutique operations that began in the last few years. That burst of production has come with little regulation as labeling is concerned. Even if wines are produced in areas like the occupied West Bank, the label on the bottle says product of Israel.
Rogov says he doesn't agree with the practice, but even he doesn't explicitly say if a wine was made on occupied land. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 war.
Interestingly, many of the vintners themselves are not what one would think of in terms of damn-the-Palestinians, this-is-our-land settlers...
Most people who live in the Golan Heights are philosophical about the future, Zion says. If returning the land means peace with Syria, she says most winemakers there would probably agree to leave. Many have already started sister wineries in the nearby Galilee region in anticipation of a possible land deal.
Although I'm not sure how much that has led to actual collaboration with Palestinians. The US does matter in terms of Israeli wine, as we are their biggest export market.
I personally have been purposefully drinking a lot more local wine -- a large fraction of the wine I bought this year was made here in the Midwestern US. I however would be hesitant to buy wine from Israel knowing about this issue -- much as I am strongly resistant to buying natural diamonds due to concerns that the blood diamonds cannot be distinguished from those obtained ethically.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260447411794&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Israeli officials reacted angrily Thursday night to a British decision to advise retailers and importers to distinguish on labels whether imported produce from the West Bank is being made in the settlements or by Palestinians.
According to a statement released by the British Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, "Importers, retailers, NGOs and consumers have asked the Government for clarity over the precise origin of products from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The label 'West Bank' does not allow consumers to distinguish between goods originating from Palestinian producers and goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements."
NPR here in the US brought up the same issue in the context of wine -- wine sold out of vintners in Israel and consumed in the US is marked "Made in Israel" without any discussion of whether the winery is in occupied land, and oftentimes vintners make wine in both occupied land and undisputed Israeli territory.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120845694
There are now well over 200 wineries in the region, most of them boutique operations that began in the last few years. That burst of production has come with little regulation as labeling is concerned. Even if wines are produced in areas like the occupied West Bank, the label on the bottle says product of Israel.
Rogov says he doesn't agree with the practice, but even he doesn't explicitly say if a wine was made on occupied land. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 war.
Interestingly, many of the vintners themselves are not what one would think of in terms of damn-the-Palestinians, this-is-our-land settlers...
Most people who live in the Golan Heights are philosophical about the future, Zion says. If returning the land means peace with Syria, she says most winemakers there would probably agree to leave. Many have already started sister wineries in the nearby Galilee region in anticipation of a possible land deal.
Although I'm not sure how much that has led to actual collaboration with Palestinians. The US does matter in terms of Israeli wine, as we are their biggest export market.
I personally have been purposefully drinking a lot more local wine -- a large fraction of the wine I bought this year was made here in the Midwestern US. I however would be hesitant to buy wine from Israel knowing about this issue -- much as I am strongly resistant to buying natural diamonds due to concerns that the blood diamonds cannot be distinguished from those obtained ethically.
