Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Is Obama Boycotting Israel?

A couple of days ago, while writing about the Boycott Divest Sanction movement against Israel, I wondered where the Obama administration stood on this newest manifestation of anti-Semitism.

Then, an anonymous commenter responded by drawing my attention to a recent decision by the Obama administration’s Department of Homeland Security. Henceforth America would reject goods produced on the West Bank if they were marked Made in Israel. You see, the anti-Semitic pro-Palestinian terrorism left believes that the West Bank is occupied territory. Ergo, products produced there cannot be labeled Made in Israel.

In so doing it was following the example of the European Union. A world leader in submission, the EU had previously taken the same step.

Global Research has the story:

In a step towards joining an Israel boycott, the U.S. is now requiring goods originating from the West Bank (also known as Judea and Samaria) to be labeled separately from products from the rest of Israel, following the European Union’s crackdown on products from the disputed territories.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has issued new mandates requiring that West Bank products not be marked “Israel,” citing a notice from the year1997 that offers such instructions.

The memo from DHS, titled, “West Bank Country of Origin Marking Requirements,” reads:

“The purpose of this message is to provide guidance to the trade community regarding the country of origin marking requirements for goods that are manufactured in the West Bank.”

According to the instructions,

“It is not acceptable to mark” goods from the West Bank as having been from “Israel,” “Made in Israel,” or from “Occupied Territories-Israel.”

In its statement, U.S. Customs threatens:

“Goods that are erroneously marked as products of Israel will be subject to an enforcement action carried out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”

“Goods entering the United States must conform to the U.S. marking statute and regulations promulgated thereunder,” the statement adds.

Groups advocating “boycott, divestment, and sanctions” (BDS) against Israel have demanded separate labeling of Israeli goods from the West Bank and the Golan Heights as a step toward a total boycott of Israeli products.

David Harsanyi offers some commentary on the decision:

To put the administration’s new guidance into some perspective, it’s worth noting that The Simon Wiesenthal Center labeled a similar European ban as one of the most anti-Semitic acts of 2015 — a year in which it had plenty to choose from:

The European Union has chosen to label products from the Golan Heights and disputed territories on the West Bank alone, ignoring the products of other occupied and disputed territories in the world such as Western Sahara, Kashmir, Tibet and products from areas controlled by terrorist Hamas and Hezbollah. This use of double standards against Israel typifies modern anti-Israelism and has been at the core of anti-Semitism for many centuries.

There has always been a morally dubious double-standard when it comes to land under Israel’s control. Hundreds of millions of minorities live under occupation in the world, yet you’ll never see leftists marching for the rights of Coptic Christians or Kurdish statehood; trendy media outlets aren’t going to produce misleading ahistorical propaganda films about the dozens of ethnic subgroups living under occupation — most with far less of a chance at self-determination than the Palestinians.

Then again, perhaps if Tibetans start stabbing civilians and blowing up children, the U.N., E.U., The New York Times, and Vox might be more interested in championing their cause. Well, they’d have to stab the right kind of people, of course.

It’s what you would expect from the most anti-Israeli administration in American history. And we are also not surprised to note that the mainstream media and most Jewish groups are doing their best to make sure that no one knows it is happening. Perhaps the question should be brought up during the next Republican presidential debate. 

3 comments:

Ares Olympus said...

Stuart: It’s what you would expect from the most anti-Israeli administration in American history.

Well, I'm glad you say "anti-Israeli administration" over "anti-Semitic".

I wondered what the fuss was about, found this perspective.
https://lobelog.com/the-obama-administration-is-right-to-reject-the-settlementsisrael-conflation/
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Attention is finally focusing on a bill pending in Congress that would make it U.S. policy to defend and support Israeli settlements. Known as the Customs Bill, this legislation regulates U.S. trade relations with foreign countries and includes the pro-settlement language in a provision that, ostensibly, is about defending the state of Israel against boycotts. It is part of a broader campaign, waged in Washington and in state capitals across the country, that seeks to undermine growing grassroots support for the boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel and reverse Washington’s longstanding opposition to settlements in the occupied territories.

Back in July, Congress passed a similar provision as part of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill. The State Department responded with a statement rejecting the pro-settlements language, noting that “[e]very U.S. administration since 1967—Democrat and Republican alike—has opposed Israeli settlement activity beyond the 1967 lines.” The administration’s rejection provoked a harsh critique by one Washington Post blogger who writes on both legal issues and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The blogger, Eugene Kontorovich, testified on the BDS movement and ways to combat it before the Subcommittee on National Security of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last July. Now, with the Customs Bill in the spotlight and likely to soon come before President Obama, the arguments presented in his critique—which apply equally to the settlements-related provision in the Customs Bill—bear close scrutiny.
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I suppose it would be much simpler if we just stopped subsidizing Israel. Then we could stop trying to control them.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/U.S._Assistance_to_Israel1.html

$3115 million dollars/year? How many citizens? 8 million, so that's $389 per man, woman and child.

I wonder if the American public would like a $389 per capita tax rebate?

Perhaps the republicans can talk about that as well in their debates.

Anonymous said...

"It’s what you would expect from the most anti-Israeli administration in American history. And we are also not surprised to note that the mainstream media and most Jewish groups are doing their best to make sure that no one knows it is happening."

As a "Bitter Clinger" happily living in Flyover Country", I attribute the age old irrational hatred shown towards the Jewish people, to the jealousy of Satan. I also know that God will never abandon the Jewish people. The Lord Jesus Christ will return to save Israel and every knee will bend. "for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”Matthew 23:39"

I am horrified by the rancor being directed toward Israel by the United States government since Obama was elected. I pray that we do not elect anyone who will continue the campaign against Israel.

Ares Olympus said...

Anonymous at 5:51 AM demonstrates the interesting Christian/biblical connection to the Jewish people, that is people incidentally persecuted by Christians for 2000 some years as "Christ killers", known to drink the blood of children, and all that.

It makes me curious what would have happened if modern Israel would have been called say "Philistine" instead of "Israel", I wonder if Christians would still confuse this modern land as equivalent to ancient Israel?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Israel

And when did Christians first develop this new-found love for the Jewish people? Oh yes, it was those dispensationalists, started by John Darby.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism
John Nelson Darby (1800 England ..1882) is recognized as the father of dispensationalism

My Presbyterian pastor gave a presentation about it, said it was heresy, and that worried me, and generally agreeing fanciful biblical interpretation was a dangerous practice and is hard to refute since people will believe almost anything.