(Newsweek) Michael Oren - European shoppers will not see Tibetan products labeled "Made in Chinese-Occupied Tibet" or certain Cypriot goods marked "Made in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus." Nor will they see tags on items imported from the more than 200 disputed territories worldwide. Only one country will be branded on European grocery shelves: Israel. Israelis know that the marking of Israeli products from the West Bank means they will be boycotted - what market will even stock them? - and opens the door to the embargo of anything made-in-Israel. The decision of the EU to mark all Israeli products from Judea and Samaria - the West Bank - and the Golan Heights represents a return to the darkest chapters in the continent's history. The move hurts most the very people it is intended to help - the Palestinians. And it will cost the EU the key diplomatic role long sought by its leaders. Tellingly, the EU resolution relates also to the Golan Heights, where there are no Palestinians and which can no longer be traded to Syria for peace. Syria no longer exists. Does the EU want Israel to return the Golan to the Islamic State? The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S.
2015-12-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive