Israeli reprisal bill to label European products put on ice

The proposal is a response to the EU’s directive for member states to label products from the West Bank, Golan Heights and east Jerusalem.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Updated: JANUARY 11, 2016 01:18
EU Commission approves Israeli 'settlement' product guidelines (Illustrative picture)‏ (photo credit: REUTERS,JPOST STAFF)
EU Commission approves Israeli 'settlement' product guidelines (Illustrative picture)‏
(photo credit: REUTERS,JPOST STAFF)
Legislation seeking to label products from countries that label Israeli products was put on hold Sunday, in light of concerns that it may violate international trade agreements.
MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli (Bayit Yehudi) removed the bill from the Ministerial Committee for Legislation’s docket, due to a request from the Economy Ministry.
However, her spokesman said the bill is not dead yet, and Moalem-Refaeli will continue to promote it at a later date.
Moalem-Refaeli’s bill would require products imported from countries that label Israeli goods, or wares from parts of Israel, to be labeled in Hebrew, “Attention: This product is manufactured in a country that chose to label goods from the State of Israel.”
Anyone who breaks the law, if it passes, would be fined NIS 226,000.
The proposal is a response to the EU’s directive for member states to label products from the West Bank, Golan Heights and east Jerusalem, which sparked an uproar in Israel and among politicians from the Right to the Center-Left.
According to Moalem-Refaeli, economic ties are a central factor in the relations between states, and they are stronger than any anti-Israel ideology.
“The countries must know that, in response, the Israeli consumer may boycott their products,” she said.