Marking Bill on West Bank Goods Introduced in Senate
Six Republican senators, including President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of state, Marco Rubio of Florida, reintroduced a bill that would prohibit the Biden administration from requiring that goods made in the West Bank be labeled as such, rather than labeled "Made in Israel." The senators, led by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., are concerned that labeling items as from the West Bank would help the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, which opposes the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights and Gaza. The BDS movement argues that those who support Palestinians' rights shouldn't buy goods from firms that either manufacture in those territories, such as Ahava, or allegedly support the Israeli army, like Sabra, oppress Arab citizens of Israel, like SodaStream, or provide technology for surveillance of Palestinians, like HP.
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“Left-wing activists abuse country-of-origin labels in order to stigmatize products made in Israel. Our bill will defend the integrity of the Jewish State by ensuring that Israeli products may proudly bear the label ‘Made in Israel,’” Cotton said in a news release announcing the bill's reintroduction.
This bill is a companion to one that passed the House earlier this year (see 2409190062).
“The Trump Administration ended the U.S. government’s discriminatory treatment of Israeli goods, dealing a heavy blow to the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement,” said co-sponsor Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. “I am pleased to support this important legislation to codify in law U.S. opposition to discriminatory economic warfare targeting the Jewish state of Israel.”