Labelling Israeli injustice

The regulation further requires that settlement goods be labelled in accordance with international and South African law, which does not recognise the settlements as legal Israeli territory.

The regulation (Notice 380 of 2013) stipulates the following new labels: “Originating from West Bank: Israeli Goods”;”Originating from East Jerusalem: Israeli Goods”; and “Originating from Gaza: Israeli Goods”.

Wellness Warehouse, a health and beauty franchise in the Western Cape, stocks a range of skin care products called Ahava, which are made in an illegal settlement on the shores of the Palestinian side of the Dead Sea known as Mitzpe Shalem.

Prior to finalising the regulation, Ahava products were falsely labelled as “made in Israel”. Wellness Warehouse has been aware of this for a number of years. However, this was brought to an end in June this year after the finalising of the regulation, which forced Wellness Warehouse to properly label all settlement products.

What must be stated clearly at the outset is that labelling is first and foremost about complying with international and domestic law and ensuring that South African foreign policy is consistently applied. It is a government’s duty to uphold and promote the law. Contrary to what many critics have tried to argue, the government has not taken sides with a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) agenda.

South Africa, along with every other country in the world, does not recognise the settlements as legal Israeli territory. Accordingly, products that are made in the illegal Israeli settlements cannot be labelled as “made in Israel”; the law does not leave South Africa any other choice. (This begs the question: why did South Africa not act sooner?)

False labelling of Israeli settlement goods misleads consumers as to the true origins of the products, which is in violation of the law. Accordingly, and in line with the Consumer Protection Act, proper labelling upholds consumer rights and promotes a culture of responsible consumption and access to information. Consumers must be able to make informed decisions about which products they choose to purchase.

Germany, along with a number of other EU states, recently issued its support for similar labelling initiatives within Germany and the EU. The event has garnered considerable media attention, particularly considering Germany’s history regarding the Holocaust and its (until recently) staunch support for Israel. The official line coming from Angela Merkel’s government—after attempts to avoid deliberating on the matter altogether—is that proper labelling of settlement goods is in line with the law.

Just as in South Africa, the backlash from the Israeli lobby was swift and vicious. However, product labelling is one of the most peaceful messages of resistance that anyone could send to Israel regarding its policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Settlement trade is a lucrative business. According to Israeli figures supplied to the World Bank, the EU alone imports just under R3 billion worth of settlement products, which is 15 times higher than the total Palestinian products the EU imports.

The profits from trade in settlement goods provide financial resources for the maintenance and development of the settlements, and further entrenches them as facts on the ground. The continued expansion and growth of the settlements continue to derail attempts at negotiating peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Recently, the Israeli Central Bureau for Statistics released figures showing that settlement expansion for the periods January to March 2012 and January to March 2013 has increased by almost 200%.

Therefore, calls to enforce proper labelling come at a time of growing international impatience with Israel’s settlement enterprise and the delays in peace talks.

From a civil society perspective, the idea behind labelling is that consumers will be able to economically boycott settlement products and thereby make the settlement enterprise less profitable. Boycotts were an effective tool in the international solidarity movements against South African apartheid.

This almost insignificant little sticker with just six words has effectively forced Israel to acknowledge its legitimate and internationally recognised borders and is a little reminder to Israel about the human cost of its choices.

Jonathan is a graduate of the Ndifuna Ukwazi Fellowship Programme and is currently the Coordinator of Open Shuhada Street South Africa. You can follow him on Twitter @jonathandockney.