21 Nov 2019; MEMO: The Dutch parliament passed a motion on Tuesday objecting to a recent European court ruling concerning the labelling of produce made in Israeli settlements, reported the Times of Israel.
According to the report, the motion – approved 82-68 – calls on the Dutch government to resist the European Court of Justice ruling, on the basis that Israel is supposedly being unfairly “singled out”.
Israel’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Naor Gilon, thanked Dutch parliamentarians for their support, expressing hope that Dutch leaders “will adopt their own recommendation and not implement a discriminatory resolution”.
The Times of Israel, citing a report in Israel Hayom, said an Israeli diplomatic official noted that the government hopes other European countries will follow the Dutch lead.
The report added that the Dutch parliament vote was supported by Christian conservative groups, and backed by the governing coalition. The motion “does not compel the government to act and is largely symbolic”, but Israeli officials hope that it will “guide government policy to an extent.”
The court decision, resulting from a case brought by Psagot settlement winery, stated: “Foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the State of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin, accompanied, where those foodstuffs come from an Israeli settlement within that territory, by the indication of that provenance.”
Following the ruling, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz denounced it as “unacceptable both morally and in principle”, and vowed to work with his colleagues in the EU “to prevent the implementation of this gravely flawed policy”.
