Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon has condemned plans to draw up a database of Jewish businesses and products from Judea and Samaria, saying it echoes anti-Jewish measures imposed against European Jews during the early 20th century.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva at AIPAC's 2016 Policy Conference, Danon related to aggressive protests outside of AIPAC, including a group of anti-Israel activists who targeted him personally Sunday night.
Danon said he was not ruffled by the demonstration, which pales in comparison with the hostility Israel faces daily at the UN. If anything, he said the threatening, often abusive, behavior of protesters simply proved to neutral observers that supporters of the Palestinians were the ones fueling violence.
"We will continue to tell the people the truth, and I know that the American people know that we are showing the facts, and they (the anti-Israel activists) are inciting," he said.
But while the UN is still largely beholden to an "obsession against Israel," Danon said he sees a gradual change occurring, with many other countries' envoys voicing support for the State of Israel in private. "We need to take that private support and make (it) public."
Many leaders now "understand that the Palestinians don't care about negotiation - they care about embarrassing Israel at the UN."
That change is most notable among African nations - with whom Israel has recently made concerted efforts to build closer relations - and even among some Sunni Arab states, who fear an encroaching Iran at least as much as Israel does.
However, he cautioned, the fruits of Israel's engagement with those budding allies would not be immediate. "It is a process. It won't happen in one day."
Danon took aim in particular at a proposal within the US by anti-Israel actors "to label products from Judea and Samaria and to actually create a database of all Judea and Samaria produce."
"This is unacceptable," he continued. "It reminds me of times in Europe way back when people and products were labeled. We will not allow it, and I hope that the European and other countries will stand with us."