Israeli winery Psagot and its challenge to Europe’s labeling regime - by Gabriel Groisman

The days when the Jewish people chose to do nothing in the face of discrimination are over. We must fight—even if some in Israel don’t want to.

Gabriel Groisman..
JNS.org..
01 December '19..

After years of European statements, resolutions and directives against the Jewish people’s right to live in Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”), eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, on Nov. 12 the European Court of Justice continued the trend, confirming that under longstanding European Union consumer protection law, food and wine from those territories may not be labeled “Made in Israel.” Instead, ruled the court, their labels must indicate that they come from an “occupied territory,” an “Israeli settlement” or the like.

The court reasoned that European consumers must be able to “make informed choices” and that product labels must include “health, economic, environmental, social and ethical considerations, including respect for international law.” The court explained that the term “settlement” must be used “since it refers to a population of foreign origin,” going on to state that the “West Bank” is the territory of “the Palestinian people” and that they “enjoy the right to self-determination” in that territory.

And of course, although E.U. law and the ECJ decision do not relate only to Israel, in practice the only “social and ethical” consideration for which the E.U. is specifically mandating such labeling is the dispute over the pre-1967 territories in Israel.

The underlying case was initiated by Psagot Winery, based in the Binyamin region just minutes outside of Jerusalem. I am a member of the multi-national legal team advising Psagot on this matter. Psagot had challenged the legality of France’s application of these very labeling requirements, which it argued were discriminatory. The French court, in turn, filed an action with the ECJ to seek guidance on the matter.

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Gabriel Groisman is an attorney at Groisman Law, PLLC based in Miami, Florida, and also serves as the mayor of Bal Harbour, Florida. Groisman is a legal adviser to Psagot Winery and a leading voice in the global fight against anti-Semitism.

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