no-name
no-nameno-credit

Residents and business owners in Judea and Samaria were pleased with the passing of the Boycott Bill in the Knesset this week.

According to the new law, any entity boycotting Jewish enterprises in Judea and Samaria can be sued and sanctioned. The bill stipulates that anyone calling for an economic, cultural or academic boycott against the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria will be unable to participate in government tenders. In addition, any person who considers himself a victim of a boycott could sue the boycotter for compensation.

Erez ben Sa’adon, owner and CEO of the Tura Boutique Winery at the Shomron (Samaria) Jewish town of Rechelim is pleased with the new law, but says he is rarely boycotted anyway.

“Our wines are international gold-medal winners. They are marketed all over the world – and in Tel Aviv as well. Politicians like MK Eitan Cabel (Labor) and journalists order our products to their homes.”

He explains that leftist boycotts of products from Judea and Samaria end up damaging Israeli economy, because these products are not distinguished from other Israeli products overseas. “We always get praise at international wine shows. People are surprised by the quality of our wines. They are amazed that we have wine presses from the period of the first Holy Temple.

“Peace Now has been trying to boycott us for years, but no one responds. 8000 people attend the wine fairs, and maybe 2 join the boycott. Their protest is futile.

“We hope and pray that the nation will realize the hostility of these attempts and continue to support us. We pay taxes and serve in the IDF. We will continue to settle the land, and make our roots here.”

The radical left, led by the Peace Now movement, are calling for boycotts on products from Judea and Samaria ever since the Knesset passed the Boycott Bill this week. They are threatening to attempt to contest its validity  in the Supreme Court.


However, it would seem that these same protestors, along with Israel's elite,  actually enjoy these products when the media isn’t watching.

Journalist Benny Lis told Arutz 7 that he was covering the controversy over demands for a Migron evacuation a few months back, and he entered the Psagot (Jewish town in Binyamin region, ed.) winery. He was amazed to see the heads of Peace Now, among them Mussy Raz and Yariv Oppnheimer sitting around a table laden with locally produced wines and cheese. Lis reports that a few months later he was told how shocked they were to be caught red-handed by a top journalist.

Oppenheimer responded and said that he was participating in a media project, but didn’t even drink a glass of water, usually a remark reserved for someone who has visited a non-kosher home. Mussy Raz claimed he wasn’t even there. He added, though,  that Peace Now had only started its own boycotts after the Knesset passed the Boycott Bill.