A new ruling from the European Court of Justice affirming a European Union requirement that Jewish-made products made in "disputed" territories carry special labels means the U.S. is girding for battle against the E.U.
The Washington Free Beacon reported senior U.S. officials provided a briefing in which they confirmed that President Trump is preparing to "go toe-to-toe" over the requirement that such goods and products be labeled as coming from "settlements" or "Israeli colonies."
"Foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the state of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin," the Luxembourg-based court concluded.
That would allow consumers to make "informed choices," the judges said.
The EU repeatedly has taken the side of the Palestinians against Israel in disputes over territory.
Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, the Free Beacon noted, and began settling both areas shortly afterwards. The Palestinians claim both areas as parts of a future state.
The court ruling said settlements in the disputed areas "give concrete expression to a policy of population transfer conducted by that state outside its territory, in violation of the rules of general international humanitarian law."
Professor Eugene Kontorovich, director of international law at Kohelet Policy Forum, said the European court was endorsing "a new kind of yellow star on Jewish-made products."
The report explained: "The case came to court after an Israeli winery based in a settlement near Jerusalem contested France's application of a previous ECJ court ruling on the labeling. That ruling backed the use of origin-identifying tags but did not make them legally binding.
"Observers viewed the decision as a major win for the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. The labels are not being applied to Palestinian goods produced in the same areas, a point emphasized by legal experts who described the decision as part of a larger global effort to delegitimize Israel and penalize Jewish manufacturers," the Free Beacon said.
Senior Trump administration officials told the Free Beacon the U.S. will fight the EU's decision and protect its Middle Eastern ally from both physical and legal threats.
They said the ruling is seen as an endorsement of radical BDS -- the boycott, divest and sanction movement -- and it "undermines U.S. efforts to foster peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians."
The Free Beacon said Trump administration officials were especially offended by the ruling in light of the firing of hundreds of rockets at Jewish civilians by Palestinian terrorists during the past several days.
One official said: "The decision to announce this as Israel is defending a civilian population against hundreds of rockets is particularly tone deaf and demonstrates how poorly the E.U. understands the ramifications of these actions."
Morgan Ortagus, a spokesman for the State Department, said the facts of the case "are suggestive of anti-Israel bias."
"This requirement serves only to encourage, facilitate, and promote boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. The United States unequivocally opposes any effort to engage in BDS, or to otherwise economically pressure, isolate, or otherwise delegitimize Israel," the statement from Ortagus said.
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