A group of four Republican Senators sent a letter to US President Donald Trump, urging him to issue an executive order allowing goods produced in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria to be labelled as “Made in Israel”.
The letter, which was signed by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AK), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), was sent on Monday and can be found on Cotton’s website.
“We write to urge you to change US customs policy and guidelines to allow Israeli goods produced in Judea and Samaria to be labeled ‘Made in Israel,’" the four senators wrote.
“We appreciate your leadership and many achievements in support of Israel, our closest ally in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the United Nations and some prominent members of the Democratic Party are working to oppose Israel and to support the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate and damage Israel economically. In order to provide the BDS movement with targets for its anti-Israel boycotts, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released on February 12, 2020 a blacklist of over 100 Israeli, US, and other international companies operating in Judea and Samaria,” continues the letter.
The four senators note that in 2016, the Obama administration republished country-of-origin labeling guidelines introduced by the Clinton administration in 1995 and which require "Made in West Bank" labels to be put on Israeli goods produced in Judea and Samaria.
“While it is our understanding that this labeling policy is not enforced by US authorities, we are concerned that a future administration could choose to enforce these rules and thereby differentiate Israeli goods produced in Judea and Samaria, making them prime targets for BDS boycotts,” note the lawmakers.
They urge the Trump administration to “continue its string of pro-Israel policy changes by undoing these misguided Clinton-era guidelines, thereby allowing Israeli goods produced in Judea and Samaria to be labeled as ‘Made in Israel.’ This decision would be yet another achievement by your administration that would support Israel and would push back against anti-Semitism and the BDS movement,” they add.