U.S. Embassy Under Fire for ‘Boycotting’ Israeli Goods

Source: Washington Free Beacon | September 20, 2016 | Adam Kredo

Obama administration regrets gifting Jewish products made in area deemed a settlement

The Obama administration is coming under fire for supporting boycotts of Israel after issuing an apology for sending its “key contacts” a gift basket that included Israeli-made wine produced in an area deemed a settlement, according to information obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv recently sent its “key contacts and partners” a gift basket to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Included in this gift basket was a bottle of wine made in an Israeli settlement.

Supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, or BDS—which aims to wage economic warfare on the Jewish state—criticized the embassy for purchasing this product, prompting an official apology from U.S. officials.

The apology quickly sparked outrage in the pro-Israel community among those who viewed it as tacit support for the BDS movement and its goal of isolating Jewish businesses operating in these contested parts of Israel.

A State Department official familiar with the matter told the Free Beacon on Tuesday that the administration views Israeli settlements as “illegitimate” and only included the wine in its gift basket due to an “oversight.” The official said this type of thing would not happen again.

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Pro-Israel officials familiar with the situation described the administration’s behavior as support for the BDS movement, telling the Free Beacon that the administration is helping to legitimize the view that these Jewish-made products are not to be purchased.

“This is pathetic. The Obama administration can’t admit what it’s really after, which is pressuring Israel to make even more concessions to the dysfunctional Palestinians, because the American people and Congress overwhelmingly reject that kind of foreign policy,” said one senior official with a pro-Israel organization who would only speak on background. “So they end up tying themselves into knots over gift baskets.”

Noah Pollak, executive director of the Emergency Committee for Israel, an organization that fights against boycotts, told the Free Beacon that the Obama administration’s statement raises serious concerns about its stance on the BDS movement.

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