The ruling is “markedly different from the widely criticized 2019 decision issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union on Psagot labels,” the Lawfare Project noted.

By World Israel News Staff

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ruled that Psagot Winery, located in the Samaria mountains, will keep the “Product of Israel” label on its wines, according to the latest Canadian ruling.

The label, however, must include clarifying information indicating that the wines are produced in an area of the West Bank – Judea and Samaria — administered by the State of Israel, according to the ruling.

The decision follows a years-long court battle. In 2017, the CFIA ordered the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to prohibit vendors from selling wines produced in Judea and Samaria because they were labeled as products of Israel.

In a letter dated July 11, 2017, Vincent Caron, the LCBO’s senior policy adviser, informed vendors that the CFIA had instructed them on July 6 that “Product of Israel” – as these wines [are labelled – “would not be an accepting country of origin declaration for wine products that have been made from grapes that are grown fermented, processed, blended and finished in the West Bank occupied territory.”

The letter specifically referred to the award-winning Psagot and Shiloh wineries in Samaria.

This latest decision to allow the labeling “follows a lengthy battle in the Canadian federal courts, which began when a political ‘activist’ brought a case arguing it was ‘unreasonable’ for the CFIA to allow goods made by Jewish-owned businesses in Judea and Samaria to be labeled as products of Israel,” The Lawfare Project — an American, non-profit, think tank and litigation fund that works to protect the human and civil rights of Jewish and pro-Israel communities worldwide, according to its website – stated in a press release.

“After The Lawfare Project and our partner firm, RE-LAW LLP, were successful in our motion to add Psagot as a respondent in the lawsuit, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal heard the case and rejected the lower court’s prohibition on the ‘Product of Israel’ label in 2021.

“The matter was then sent back to the CFIA for reconsideration in accordance with the Court of Appeal’s decision,” the press release said.

The CFIA’s ruling is markedly different from the widely criticized 2019 decision issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union on Psagot labels, which banned the “Product of Israel” designation, the Lawfare Project noted.

“We are pleased that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has permitted our client to keep the ‘Product of Israel’ label on its wines along with clarifying information, rather than following the utterly misguided European decision to ban the ‘Israel’ label altogether,” said David Elmaleh, a partner at RE-LAW LLP.

“Psagot Winery will have no trouble adding context to its labels,” he added.

‘Undeniably products of Israel’

“The Lawfare Project and our international legal team are examining this decision closely and look forward to incorporating additional context to ensure that Israeli businesses operating in the West Bank continue to proudly and prominently display their ‘Product of Israel’ labels,” said Executive Director Brooke Goldstein.

“Indeed, the CFIA’s ruling appears to leave open the possibility that Psagot products can be labeled as ‘Product of Israel: Made in the Indigenous Jewish homeland in the Israeli-administered West Bank,’ or ‘Product of Israel: Made in the Shomron on land administered by the State of Israel,’” Goldstein said.

Furthermore, “the specific wines at issue are undeniably products of Israel. These are products made in territory controlled, administered, governed, and secured by the State of Israel. Psagot’s wines are made by an Israeli company subject to Israeli domestic law, Israeli taxation law, and Israeli customs law, in an Israeli community, on land indigenous to Jews.”

“While the CFIA’s decision is not perfectly reasoned, the result puts Canada in line with almost all the nations of the world, which allow the ‘Product of Israel’ label for such goods,” said Professor Eugene Kontorovich, who was engaged by The Lawfare Project to submit an expert statement on behalf of Psagot.

“The CFIA categorically rejected the European Union’s unique and disparaging labeling requirements, showing that the EU’s influence is less than they imagine,” he said.

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Kosher wine made in an Israeli community in Samaria, served at Kamala Harris’ Passover Seder, riles anti-Israel advocates.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

An inauspicious bottle of wine at a Passover Seder hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Jewish attorney Douglas Emhoff, drew attention from anti-Israel advocates and international journalists.

The reason? It came from Psagot Winery, which is located in a Jewish community in the region of Judea and Samaria, near Ramallah, where a visit by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had sparked controversy.

Pompeo was the first senior U.S. diplomat to visit an Israeli settlement in an official capacity, a move which generated backlash from local Palestinians, left-leaning critics of Israel and BDS supporters. In an act of gratitude for his visit, Psagot named a wine after him.

Israeli journalist Yuna Leibzon of Channel 12 News was the first major media figure to note the Psagot-branded wine in a picture of the Seder table posted by Harris’ official Twitter account.

Others quickly followed suit, reposting her tweet and its zoomed-in focus on the bottle.

One person who took notice was Michael Bueckert, vice president of NGO Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.

While the organization purports to serve as a watchdog group protecting human rights in the region, its website exclusively focuses on alleged Israeli wrongdoing and pressuring the Canadian government to cut diplomatic and economic ties with the Jewish State.

In 2017, Psagot wines were banned by a Canadian government agency from being labeled as “made in Israel.”

“Huge yikes: Kamala Harris @VP served wine from Psagot at her Passover Seder. It is produced in an illegal Israeli settlement which is colonizing the occupied West Bank,” Bueckert wrote.

“This demonstrates serious contempt for Palestinians and int’l law.”

Huge yikes: Kamala Harris @VP served wine from Psagot at her Passover Seder. It is produced in an illegal Israeli settlement which is colonizing the occupied West Bank. This demonstrates serious contempt for Palestinians and int’l law. https://t.co/UvUMG7bEeI

— Michael Bueckert (@mbueckert) April 16, 2022

Herbie Ziskend, Harris’ senior advisor for communications, replied to a tweet from an Axios journalist noting that the wine originated in Samaria by stating that there was no political statement associated with the choice.

“The wine served at the Seder was in no way intended to be an expression of policy,” he wrote.

But Zisekend’s attempt at clarification only appeared to throw fuel on the fire.

“The wine is full fascist. Because apartheid. And home demolitions. And illegal settlements. And collective punishment. And children in military detention without charge. And state-sanctioned violence. Follow along,” wrote one user in a reply to his tweet.

“Yes, every single (((Israeli))) is an evil fascist, even when they’re private citizens, not in the government, minding their own business,” another user replied sarcastically. “Even their wine is ‘full fascist.'”

“Can’t wait to hear about how you judge all Palestinians by Hamas and the PLO.”

A third user simply replied to Zisekend’s tweet with an emoji of a clown.

The post ‘Full fascist’? Samaria wine at Kamala Harris’ Passover Seder causes uproar appeared first on World Israel News.

Israeli wedding guest feels pain at nuptials but doesn’t discover she was shot until months later.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Weddings in Israel are joyous events, typically including hundreds of friends and family members who rally around the bride and groom in order to fulfill the mitzvah of making a married couple happy on their wedding day.

But for one reveler at a wedding in Judea and Samaria several months ago, the special night could have proved fatal.

“In the middle of the wedding ceremony, I felt a crazy blow in my back,” Adi Bloy told Army Radio, speaking about nuptials she attended near Psagot, outside of Jerusalem, in October 2021.

“From my shoulders to my feet, there was crazy pain. I thought at first I pulled a muscle, I didn’t see a hole in my dress,” she said.

Although she was in pain, Bloy couldn’t figure out what was wrong and decided to stay at the event.

“After a few minutes, I saw a bit of blood on my hand after I held the spot [where the pain originated,]” she explained. “There was the tiniest scratch there. My friends said it wasn’t a big deal, they told me ‘Don’t worry.’”

Bloy continued to suffer from pain in her side after the event, and visited several clinics that dismissed her complaints.

“Even the doctors said, ‘It’s nothing, Adi,’” she said.

But Bloy knew something wasn’t right, and a recent CT scan discovered that she had been shot on the night of the wedding, with the 5.56mm bullet still lodged in her body.

Army Radio reported that Israeli police suspect the bullet was fired by a resident of the Arab municipality of Mukhamas, which is next to Psagot.

It’s unclear if Bloy was intentionally targeted or if the shooting was an accident.

“This is a story you hear in movies,” she said, noting that a doctor told her that the bullet could have potentially paralyzed or killed her, if it had entered her body just a few centimeters to the right or left and hit her spine.

“You never really think such a thing could happen. But in the end, it happened to me.”

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Suspect reportedly opened fire at Jewish community near Ramallah, then shot at troops who attempted to arrest him.

By World Israel News Staff

A Palestinian gunman who attempted to carry out a terror attack in the settlement of Psagot, near Ramallah, opened fire on IDF troops that attempted to detain him and was shot dead late Wednesday evening.

According to Hebrew language media reports, the man who was shot, identified as 26-year-old Mohammad Issa Abbas, was one of several suspects who had approached Psagot and started firing at homes in the community.

After fleeing in a vehicle, he reportedly shot at IDF troops that had traveled to the area to arrest the perpetrators of the attempted terror attack.

In response, he was shot by soldiers and taken to the hospital in Ramallah, where he later died.

A statement from the IDF said that the suspect was from the town of Al-Bireh, a Ramallah suburb, and that he had fired at forces from a passing vehicle.

“Following [the shooting], a riot was instigated with the participation of dozens of Palestinians surrounding the troops, who responded with riot dispersal means,” the IDF statement said.

“No IDF injuries were reported.”

Hussein Abu Kweik, a senior Hamas official, praised Issa’s actions and told the terror group’s TV station that Israel “must expect more such responses of resistance” soon.

“Our people will not wave the flag of surrender and will continue to resist by every means,” he added.

Wednesday’s incident marked the latest in a surge of terror attacks carried out in Israel, mostly in the Jerusalem area, over the last six weeks.

Last week, 25-year-old yeshiva student Yehuda Dimentman was shot to death near Homesh in northern Samaria.

On Saturday, an Israeli man was stabbed by an elderly Palestinian woman near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

In early December, an Israeli mother in the Shimon HaTzadik (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem was stabbed by a 14-year-old Arab girl as she walked her young children to school.

In late November, South African immigrant Eli Kay was murdered by a Hamas gunman in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The post Palestinian gunman opens fire at Jewish homes, IDF troops – report appeared first on World Israel News.

Pompeo’s visit marks the first time a high-ranking American diplomat has formally visited Judea and Samaria.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Psagot Winery in Judea and Samaria, on the outskirts of Ramallah, on Thursday, to the dismay of Palestinians.

Earlier in the day, Pompeo confirmed that President Trump would honor a request from four Republican senators to officially change U.S. customs policy regarding products made in Judea and Samaria, so that said goods will be labeled “Made in Israel.”

Pompeo’s visit marks the first time a high-ranking American diplomat has formally visited Judea and Samaria.

In al-Bireh, a Ramallah suburb some 10 kilometers away from the Psagot Winery, Palestinians protested, waving flags and burning tires.

Holding signs with phrases such as “Pompeo Go Home” and “Pompeo is a Partner of a War Criminal,” scores of youth protested on the side of the road leading to Psagot.

“Pompeo’s visit is unprecedented. It makes him a participant in a war crime,” said Mustafa Barghouti, General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative and a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council.

“This is an encouragement to the settlement building plans, and encouragement to the incremental annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories,” Barghouti told local media.

Barghuouti’s cousin, Marwan Barghouti, was sentenced to five cumulative life sentences in 2004 for his involvement in planning and executing terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens and a Greek Orthodox priest.

A group of Palestinian activists held a press conference against the visit, in which they publicly condemned Pompeo.

“We are telling the Americans, when you drink that wine, you are drinking the blood of the Palestinian people,” said Abdul Jawad Saleh, an activist.

Saleh’s remarks call to mind classic blood libels against Jews, which falsely allege that Jews murder non-Jewish children in order to obtain their blood for religious rituals.

A common blood libel is that Jews use the blood of non-Jewish children to prepare Matzah for Passover. This falsehood is in direct contrast to Jewish dietary laws, which explicitly prohibit the consumption of blood.

Blood libels have historically led to deadly pogroms against Jews.

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Mike Pompeo, expected in Israel next week, will visit a Jewish community north of Jerusalem and travel to the Golan Heights.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit the Psagot settlement in Judea, north of Jerusalem, and travel to the Golan Heights when he visits Israel next week, Walla News reported Thursday.

It will be the first-ever visit by an American foreign minister to an Israeli settlement, marking a departure from previous State Department policy.

Pompeo will visit Psagot, which is located only eight kilometers (4.8 miles) north of Jerusalem bordering the Arab city of Ramallah, the seat of government of the Palestinian Authority. He is also expected to visit the Golan Heights, possibly including the site of Trump Heights, the new town being built by Israel to honor U.S. President Trump for recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau.

Pompeo’s visit to Israel will last about three days and will constitute a kind of “heritage visit” making the key policy decisions that the Trump administration has made concerning Israel during his tenure, Walla reported.

Veteran diplomatic affairs reporter Barak Ravid speculated that the Pompeo trip may also be “a visit of intra-American political significance in light of the possibility that he will want to run for the presidency of the United States in the future.”

Earlier this week, the State Department issued a statement saying only that that Pompeo will visit Israel and meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without specifying the itinerary.

The secretary is also expected to meet other officials, most likely Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Gabbi Ashkenazi and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, the report said.

Pompeo is traveling with his wife Susan, and the couple will make a private visit to the Qasr al-Yahud site on the Jordan River, revered by Christians as the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

“My assumption is that he chose Psagot because the Psagot winery named a line of red wine it produces after Pompeo about a year ago,” tweeted Ori Nir, spokesman for the left-wing Americans for Peace Now.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh expressed anger at the American official for stepping foot into a settlement.

“We deplore US Sec. of State Mike Pompeo’s intent to visit the illegal settlement of Psagot, built on lands belonging to Palestinian owners in Al-Bireh city,” Shtayyeh tweeted. “This dangerous precedent legalizes settlements and a blow to international legitimacy [and] UN resolutions.”

Pompeo is not the most senior U.S. official to visit a Jewish community in Judea and Samaria. In 2009, former President Jimmy Carter accepted an invitation to visit the Gush Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem.

After meeting settlers and victims of Palestinian terror attacks, Carter told the press he believed the Gush Etzion settlements should remain Israeli.

“This particular settlement area [Gush Etzion] is not one that I envision ever being abandoned or changed over into Palestinian territory,” Carter said, rejecting traditional diplomatic calls for a complete return to the 1948 armistice lines and endorsing Israeli sovereignty over Gush Etzion.

“This is part of the close settlements to the 1967 line that I think will be here forever,” he said, at the same time setting a precedent for the many other settlement areas that are close to “the 1967 line.”

The post Pompeo to be first Secretary of State to visit settlements appeared first on World Israel News.

IDF forces were fired at in the Binyamin region, while Israeli forces in Hebron arrested a Palestinian carrying a concealed knife. 

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

Palestinian terrorists fired at an IDF position situated near the Israeli community of Psagot, in the Binyamin region of Judea and Samaria, on Sunday night.

No Israelis were harmed in the attack and no damage was caused.

Several bullet shells, apparently fired during the attack, were found near the IDF’s position.

IDF forces launched a hunt for the car used by the terrorists.

Earlier on Sunday evening, Israeli security forces arrested a Palestinian who arrived at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron carrying a knife. Border policemen securing the entrance to the holy site noticed the suspect was hiding an object under his shirt.

When asked to remove all objects from his pockets, he still attempted to keep the knife concealed.

The suspect, aged 17, was arrested and taken for questioning.

The Border Police noted that “repeated efforts by those attempting to harm visitors at the site or forces securing them will continue to encounter steadfastness by forces operating to maintain the peace and order” at the holy site.

In related news, IDF forces carrying out counter-terrorism operations throughout Judea and Samaria on Sunday night arrested 18 Palestinians suspected of involvement in terrorism.

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