# Why is Israel so bothered by this region-of-origin labelling?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-israel-so-bothered-by-this-region-of-origin-labelling/472840>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [November 15, 2008, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-israel-so-bothered-by-this-region-of-origin-labelling/472840 "2008-11-15T10:30:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-israel-so-bothered-by-this-region-of-origin-labelling/472840/1 "2008-11-15T10:30:46Z")

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[From Haaretz, “Israel infuriated by U.K. plan to label West Bank produce”](http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1037263.html):

> [@](#):
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> Relations between Israel and Britain remained strained on Thursday over Downing Street’s intention to label products manufactured in West Bank settlements, a week before the expected arrival of British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, David Miliband, to the Middle East.
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> Miliband, who will visit Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Syria and Lebanon next week, is expected to talk to Israeli officials over the settlements in the West Bank and his country’s proposed plan to label products manufactured in them. “This initiative is a serious and substantial problem in relations between the two countries, and is generating a sense of crisis,” a senior diplomat in Jerusalem said.

Why does Israel think a substantial portion of the British public will both care enough to look _ **and** _ actively avoid products from the West Bank? In America, at least, anti-Israel sentiment is held by a few very loud people on extreme ends of the political map, with the majority of people just not caring. Avoiding products from the West Bank (or anywhere else in the region) would be the act of a priggish minority.

(Yes, I read the comments on the article. The anti-Israel bigots are loud but that does not make them numerous or economically powerful.)

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**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\
**Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-israel-so-bothered-by-this-region-of-origin-labelling/472840/2 "2008-11-15T11:33:28Z")

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I’ve never understood the resistance to labeling in general. Are companies ashamed of where their products come from or what they’re made of? It only reinforces the notion that they’ve got something to hide and are trying to put one over on the consumer.

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**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\
**Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-israel-so-bothered-by-this-region-of-origin-labelling/472840/3 "2008-11-15T11:50:01Z")

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The EU has a free trade agreement with Israel that doesn’t include the West Bank and Gaza. Trade originated on the West Bank isn’t allowed to enter the EU on the same terms.

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-israel-so-bothered-by-this-region-of-origin-labelling/472840/4 "2008-11-15T12:54:20Z")

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It appears that the proposed “West Bank” mark would be applied to any produce from outside the pre-1967 boundaries of Israel, meaning that manufactured goods or produce from the occupied territories would not be covered by the EU agreements with Israel, subjecting them to higher tariffs or exclusion.

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**Author:** ![wmfellows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@wmfellows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmfellows)\
**Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-israel-so-bothered-by-this-region-of-origin-labelling/472840/5 "2008-11-15T15:23:42Z")

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It would appear that Israeli governmental officials want both EU market access, and want to get around the treaty enshrined view of what is Israel.

I would guess it is probably some hard liners taking a “treaty be damned” view.