Last week, before Friday’s shocking and horrific events in Paris, the EU had just announced discriminatory labeling laws for West Bank products. Here’s how AP reports:
The European Union’s decision Wednesday to start labeling Israeli products made in the West Bank delivered a resounding show of international disapproval over Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements and raised the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to renew peace efforts with the Palestinians.
Israel condemned the measure as unfair and discriminatory, but it appeared helpless to stop its growing isolation over the settlement issue and its treatment of Palestinians. Relations with the EU in particular have deteriorated in recent years due to disputes over the settlements.
What AP glosses over, of course, is that the labeling distinguishes between products made in the West Bank by Jews, and products made in the West Bank by Arabs. If this were merely about geography, all West Bank products would bear the same label. This EU regulation does one thing and one thing only: it aids those who want to boycott Jewish products by enabling them to distinguish between Palestinian-made goods and Jewish-made goods. This is not a geolocator. This is a yellow star.
Let’s not forget that almost exactly three years ago, all but one EU country voted in favor of, or abstained from the vote that awarded non-member observer state status to Palestine at the UN. This vote did not require that such an entity cease or renounce violence, did not require it to recognize that Israel is a Jewish state, did not even require it to negotiate in good faith. Of all the EU nations, only the Czech Republic voted against the resolution. Last week those same nations further rewarded those who have rejected every opportunity for peace, rejected every opportunity for coexistence, and even rejected every opportunity for the state they claim to want so badly, in favor of violence. The view from here is that while the self-important Europeans may no longer want to get their hands dirty killing Jews themselves, they are happy enough to have Arabs doing the dirty work for them.
Here’s how the Obama White House responded:
Israel continues to expand settlement activity. It should not come as a surprise that some in the international community seek to limit commercial ties to the settlements. This underscores the urgent need for Israel to change its policies with regard to settlements.
This is functionally an endorsement of the EU decision. Though Congress specifically directed the White House to oppose measures just like this one in legislation that President Obama himself signed in June, the administration appears to have no intention of following the law.
Once again, Jews are targeted, the media covers it up, and the Obama administration enables it.
