The German department store KaDeWe apologized for removing Israeli wines from its shelves after facing a major backlash, the Associated Press reported Sunday.
KaDeWe said on its Facebook page that the wines had been temporarily removed so the importer could relabel them in accordance with new European Union rules that require products originating in Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be labeled as such.
The store apologized and said that “as of today the eight Israeli wines will be back in our assortment” and that “in this matter, which was about a European Union recommendation, we acted too quickly and insensitively.” …
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted KaDeWe’s decision to target Israeli wines during a cabinet meeting yesterday.
First, I would like to comment on the KaDeWe department store in Berlin. This department store had been owned by Jews; the Nazis took it. Absurdly, the store is now labeling products from communities in Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights. It started with labeling products and now we are told that the products have been removed from the shelves – a boycott in every respect. We strongly protest this step, which is unacceptable morally, historically and on its merits. We expect the German government, which came out against product labeling, to act on this grave matter.
The department store’s attempt to abide by the European Union’s new labeling guidelines put it at odds with Germany’s ruling party, which has denounced the measure. Jürgen Hardt, spokesman for the ruling Christian Democratic Union, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency earlier this month that the EU guidelines could be easily exploited by anti-Israel activists, and added that his party “considers that stigmatization and boycott are not probate to facilitate the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians.”
Legal scholars Avi Bell and Eugene Kontorovich pointed out in a paper (.pdf) published in October that, while there are approximately 200 territorial disputes worldwide, “the EU has never unilaterally adopted a regulation requiring geographic labelling contrary to the exporting country’s certificate of origination,” except in the case of Israel. The EU new guidelines therefore amount to “unlawful trade barriers.”
Earlier this month, Daniel Pletka, a senior vice-president at the American Enterprise Institute, equated the EU’s labeling decision with past European practices towards Jews.
What, you say, but there are no Jews occupying those other places? We only condemn the Jews? Well, of course. Because only the Jews are especially worthy of EU condemnation. Next, a yellow star. Now that would be bold.
[Photo: Motorrad-Presse.com / Flickr ]