Businessmen from the Bukharian Jewish community in New York visited the factories of the Shomron (Samaria) recently, in the wake of the European attempts to boycott all products originating from Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and Jerusalem.

The group visited the Tura winery in the Shomron community of Har Bracha and received a briefing by Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron regional council.

From the winery, the businessmen continued to the Shamir Salads factory, where the owner, Ami Guy, warned that the boycott on his factory is causing him to fire Palestinian Arab employees and that the effect will be felt everywhere in Israel if the boycott is implemented.

The members of the group from New York said they will consider cooperation with the factories they visited, as well as with other businesses in the Shomron.

The European Union recently published guidelines which boycott Israeli companies operating in Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

Israel warned that it might shun the key EU Horizons 2020 research program unless a compromise is found over the boycotting guidelines. The sides subsequently reached a compromise on wording for Israel's participation in the scientific collaboration project.

The Shomron Regional Council has established its own Foreign Ministry in recent months, after realizing that other groups were not going to take the lead in promoting Israeli communities in the region.

The heads of the Council have been meeting with American lawmakers and explaining to them the importance of keeping Judea and Samaria under Israeli control. They have also been hosting lawmakers from around the world in Judea and Samaria.