THREAD on the EJC decision re Israel product labelling:
1) Its as bad as was expected by observers, including myself. The Court affirms the EU's unique labelling policy that only applies to Israeli products. Reupping my analysis when policy first adopted nytimes.com/2015/11/13/opi…
1) Its as bad as was expected by observers, including myself. The Court affirms the EU's unique labelling policy that only applies to Israeli products. Reupping my analysis when policy first adopted nytimes.com/2015/11/13/opi…
2) The most glaring aspect of EU's decision is that is says consumers have right to know if a product made in occupied territories or where serious int'l law problems exist. But EU does not req "Made in Moroccan Settlements" labels, or any other such labels anywhere in the world
3) Nor are the poised to introduce such requirements, because everyone knows this is not abut what law requires, but what the Jewish State deserves. So don't hold your breath for "Made in Tibet," Made in Occupied Donbass, Russian Settlements Crimea, or other labels
4 But this is not a double standard, ie mere failure to apply and enforce rules. It is worse: making up a "rule" for Israel, and remembering everywhere else that the "rule" has a silent footnote.
5. The Court's conclusion that Israeli settlements violate the Geneva Convention will be much touted by Israel's critics. But look at the opinion: this massive claim is accompanied by ZERO analysis, merely citations to non-binding and non-legal statements from UN orgs.
6. That is legal boot-strapping at its worse: the Court strings a bunch of precedential zeros together and says its adds up to one.
7. This is not about Palestinian rights or a two-state solution. Court makes clear the ruling applies in full to "Syria," ie Golan Heights, handing a huge win to Assad. It is not pro-Pal, it is anti-Israel. Of course products from Turkish-occupied Syria will not be thus labelled
8. 7US response should be clear. US labelling rules actually require "Made in West Bank" labelling (but without the prejudicial other language ECJ requires). It has never been enforced, and @SecPompeo should immediately restore pre'96 "Made in Israel" labelling rule.
