Israel: South Africa's desire to label West Bank goods is 'racist'
When South Africa requested imports from Israeli settlements be labeled 'made in the occupied West Bank,' Israel's Foreign Ministry said the move 'bears clear racist characteristics.'
Tel Aviv
In the 45 years since gaining control of the West Bank, Israel has refrained from formally annexing the territory claimed by the Palestinians, in part out of fear of an international uproar. In trade, however, Israel has been labeling goods from Jewish settlements there as 鈥淢ade in Israel鈥� for years.
Now South Africa says it wants retailers of Israeli exports to designate products from the settlements 鈥� considered illegal by most of the international community 鈥� as made in the 鈥渙ccupied West Bank,鈥� a decision that some here fear could lead to a cascade of similar international efforts.
Indeed, South Africa's decision last week was followed by the government of Denmark within days, and has outraged Israeli officials who criticized the labeling rules as a 鈥渞acist" step on the way to boycotting settlement products.
So far, international efforts to boycott settlement businesses have found little success. And while analysts say the move is unlikely to hurt Israel economically 鈥� West Bank industry is a fraction of the overall economy 鈥� the policy has the potential isolate Israel diplomatically if other countries follow suit.
鈥淲hen people are asking, 'is it from the territories, is not?' It鈥檚 mostly a political blow, not an economic blow,鈥� says Alon Liel, a former director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. "Because of South Africa鈥檚 history of apartheid, it attracts attention regarding the legality of the settlements and fixes attention on the 'A鈥� word. That is very meaningful because Israel has a soft belly here.鈥�
Palestinian officials welcomed the move as another lever to pressure Israel into halting expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a bone of contention which has stymied peace negotiations for more than a year and a half.
Boycott coming?
The move also raises fears that it will morph into a general boycott of all Israeli products 鈥� a stated goal of the Palestinian 鈥淏oycott, Divestment, and Sanctions" (BDS) movement.
A spokesman for the South African Embassy in Israel denied that the move amounts to a boycott because the country is not banning the import of products from the Jewish settlements. That said, the South African government wants to give citizens the option to avoid West Bank goods with transparent labeling.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just to give our buying public a choice whether or not to buy,鈥� says Eugene Grobrer, the deputy head of mission at the South African Embassy in Israel. 鈥淚t鈥檚 for the consumer to decide what to do because there is a lot of sympathy for the Palestinian cause.鈥�
Though suburban towns have always been the most visible footprint of Israeli settlements established in the West Bank, there are several industrial zones around the West Bank which attract dozens of Israeli companies with government subsidies and tax breaks. Some of the settlements cultivate fields for agricultural exports.
In recent years, Mul-T-lock, an Israeli company acquired by a company in Sweden, relocated its facilities back across the Green Line into Israel, but it remains an exception.
Pro-Palestinian activists have sought a blanket ban on Israeli products at supermarkets in the US and Britain, with mixed success.
Racist, says Foreign Ministry
Israeli officials have expressed indignation to South African counterparts, arguing that the decision singles out Israeli manufacturers while ignoring other international territorial disputes. They argue that the settlement goods carry the 鈥淢ade in Israel鈥� label to indicate the goods are manufactured under Israeli standards, and don鈥檛 point to a future annexation.
鈥淪tigmatizing and shaming one country and its products based on national and political criteria 鈥� is tantamount to a move that bears clear racist characteristics,鈥� says Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry.
Palestinian government officials said the move is a legitimate way to to contain Israel鈥檚 settlement build-up and denied it's aimed at all Israeli goods.
鈥淚t is significant politically, and it will be significant economically in the future, because we hope other countries will join the boycott,鈥� says Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian government spokesperson. 鈥淭he hope is that this will contribute to holding Israel responsible for settlement expansion and hopefully stopping settlements expansion, which is necessary for the two-state solution.鈥�
Even though Israel鈥檚 economy has barely felt any impact from the sanctions effort, one Western diplomat who has followed the boycott movement believes that it has long term potential to inflict damage. South Africa鈥檚 move could start a slow moving snow ball if other Israeli products are tainted by consumers who can鈥檛 distinguish.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sheds light on this untenable contradiction about the territories. The Israeli authorities are seeking once again to erase the Green Line,鈥� says the diplomat, who was not authorized to comment publicly. 鈥淚t opens up a can of worms if this starts being successful.鈥�