From its biannual Standing Committee in Athens on Wednesday, the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) issued a sharp condemnation of the European Union's decision to label Jewish goods from Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
"The EU's decision to label products imported from the settlements and the Golan Heights in Israel is miserable and characterized by hatred of Israel," Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, CER's President said at the conference.
"We dealt with the wishes of 'the new anti-Semites' in Europe two years ago when they wanted to label kosher meat and we succeeded in repealing this initative in European Parliament and other EU instituions. I told them: You want to label? Please. But you must also labelmeat from animals gassed to death."
"Today, we say again: You want to label? Please. But you must also label Syrian products from Islamic State and Assad," Goldschmidt charged. "These initatives are the new anti-Semitism in Europe."
Arutz Sheva also spoke personally with Ukraine's Chief Rabbi Yaakov Bleich, who called the symbolism of the move "crazy."
Noting that less than 1 percent of the export to the EU from Israel comes from Judea-Samaria and the Golan Heights, Rabbi Bleich said the labeling was a "double standard" that would "ultimately hurt the Palestinians who are the employees of Jewish businesses."
"I think it's politicians without farsightedness making a very stupid decision," he added. "Maybe one day they'll have brains and realize they made a big mistake."