Neo-Nazi (illustration)
Neo-Nazi (illustration)Thinkstock

Science Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) responded sharply on Monday morning to reports quoting a senior European Union (EU) official as saying the labeling of Israeli products from Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights will begin in October, as early as next week.

"The revelation of hatred against Jews that we've known from recent history raises its ugly head again," said the minister.

"It is saddening that the European Parliament hasn't learned a thing from history, and works today with the same deviant means known to us from the 1930s, which marked the start of the greatest tragedy in the history of humanity."

In referencing the labeling of Jewish goods by the genocidal Nazi regime back in the 1930s, Akunis echoed criticism leveled earlier this month by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu against the European Parliament's decision, when he said, "we have historical memory of what happened when Europe labeled Jewish products."

Akunis concluding by saying, "we are proud of all Israeli products, from the Golan Heights and from Judea and Samaria as well, and no political debate justifies shameful and dark decisions of this sort."

The EU official quoted in the report on Army Radio on Monday threatened that if Israel responds to the discriminatory labeling by developing new Jewish communities in the Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, the EU will take additional punitive steps against Jews in the region.

In the 1967 Six Day War Israel liberated Judea and Samaria as well as eastern Jerusalem from Jordanian occupation, and likewise liberated the Golan from Syria. However, it has yet to annex the regions, even though the 2012 Levy Report determined its presence there is legal under international law.

The official also opined that the damage to Palestinian Arabs left jobless by the economic attacks against Jewish factories in Judea and Samaria is made worthwhile by the economic damage inflicted on Jews in the area.