Lawmaker calls on Israelis to ‘think twice’ before buying French products

Member of Knesset Michael Oren called for Israeli consumer awareness, though not a full-blown boycott, on French products. 

Member of Knesset (MK) Michael Oren has encouraged Israeli consumers to “think twice” about purchasing French-made products following Paris’ decision on Friday to label Israeli products originating from Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights, thus effectively singling them out for boycotts.

“France is labeling Israeli products from Judea, Samaria, and the Golan. Israelis should think twice before buying French products,” Oren tweeted on Sunday.

Responding to Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the US and currently the deputy minister for diplomacy in the Prime Minister’s Office, France’s Ambassador to Israel, Halene Le Gal, tweeted, “So you are calling for boycotting French products when in France boycotting Israel is punished by law?”

France’s high court ruled in October 2015 that boycotts on Israel are illegal and are a form of discrimination and racism.

France’s decision comes about a year after the European Union (EU) issued a non-binding resolution recommending that its member states use labels.

The EU’s mission in Israel tweeted in response to Oren’s call that France’s action “is [an] application of EU consumer information regulations.” It is unclear how this responds to Oren’s call.

Oren later clarified to the Times of Israel that he was not calling for a boycott of French products, but rather wanted Israeli consumers “to be aware that France is moving to label Jewish products from Judea, Samaria, and the Golan.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry slammed Paris’ decision, saying it  “regrets that France, which actually has a law against boycotts, is advancing measures that can be interpreted as encouraging radical elements and the movement to boycott Israel.”

By: JNS.org and World Israel News Staff