The head of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) recently expressed grave concerns about the European Union’s directive demanding that all products from disputed Israeli territories be labeled, a move that he said would “undermine economic co-existence” between Palestinians and Israelis and “harm those working toward peace.”
“This labeling law will only divide Israelis and Palestinians further,” said ICEJ Executive Director Dr. Jürgen Bühler ahead of an ICEJ-sponsored symposium on the labeling law due to take place in the European Parliament in Brussels in early December. “Co-existence is better achieved by establishing factories and business partnerships in areas where Palestinians and Israelis live side-by-side.”
“This highly-politicized directive will only end up hurting those it claims to help,” Bühler continued. “All the evidence indicates that the businesses being targeted employ tens of thousands of Palestinians and contribute to the well-being of all those living in the affected areas, both Jews and Arabs alike.”
“What’s more, it’s a one-sided law that unjustly singles out Israel for condemnation and violates the rules of World Trade Organization. Why is the E.U. unwilling to issue similar directives for goods originating in northern Cyprus or the Western Sahara, territories illegally occupied by Turkey and Morocco? It’s a double-standard,” declared German-born Bühler, “which reminds many Israelis of the discriminatory laws passed in Germany in the 1930s.”
“If the E.U. really wants to promote peace, they should stop penalizing those Israelis and Palestinians who are working together to make a living. Instead, they should provide greater incentives for them to forge deeper bonds of co-operation, without using labeling laws which could further the anti-Israeli propaganda that is sweeping Europe.”
“It is time that the European Union lived up to its own core values of free trade and open borders rather than seeking the expulsion of Jews from Judea and Samaria and the impoverishment of Palestinians who currently work alongside them,” Bühler added.
The upcoming symposium on the labeling law will take place in Brussels on Dec. 2 in cooperation with MEPs and representatives from dozens of ICEJ branches throughout Europe. It will call upon members of the European Parliament to invest in joint-ventures in Judea and Samaria to foster economic co-operation, stability and peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the area.
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