Two UK Gifts To Israel for Hanukkah

And the olive oil burned brightly.. but how was it labeled

Lucky is Israel on this Hanukkah. Britain has given it two gifts. The first is that the new British Ambassador to Israel designate is Jewish. This is a first. Matthew Gould, 37, a Kadima Summer camp alum, was recently one of Britain’s representatives and diplomats in Tehran Iran. It was there that he began to attend prayer services at a local synagogue, which increased his interest in Judaism and Jewish culture. And now for the second gift. A new law will allow British retailers to differentiate agricultural and other products from the West Bank through new labels. Instead of saying “Product of the West Bank,” they may now differentiate between Palestinian products and products from Israeli occupied settlements in the West Bank. Your fruit can now say “Israeli settlement produce” or “Palestinian produce.” While the Yesha Council rep reports that they are not worried by this new rule, since they think British consumers will find their products of better quality, others are complaining that this is akin to planting the seeds for a new boycott. Why are they singling out products, fruits and vegetables from West Bank settlements, and not products from other disputed areas in China, India, Denmark, Spain, FSU, or other areas of the world? Well, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says it is not that they are trying to politicize the produce or push Israel into a withdrawal, they are merely responding to consumer requests. Oh okay.