The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America has registered a strong complaint with Secretary of State Alexander Haig and Treasury Secretary Donald Regan, protesting the Oct. 27 U.S. Customs Service ruling changing the identification of goods made in Judaea and Samaria from “made in Israel” to “made in Israeli-occupied West Bank.”
A letter signed by the Union’s Israel Commission chairman, Fred Ehrman, and sent to both Secretaries, stated in part: “To our knowledge, no other United States ally with claims on disputed territory is required to label its exports in this manner. This unprecedented ruling, following on the heels of the Senate’s acceptance of the sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia, therefore, indicates to us a strong tilt in American foreign policy away from support of Israel and the Camp David accords in favor of pressure and so-called peace plans from oil-rich countries which show little concern for Israel’s survival.”
“Judaea and Samaria are areas whose sovereignty remains to be negotiated under the provisions of the Camp David accords,” the letter concluded. “As long as they are administered by the Israeli government, and so long as Israel’s claims for sovereignty over these territories remain as valid as any other claims, we must firmly insist that this biased ruling be reversed and products made in the area rightfully bear the seal, ‘Made in Israel’.”
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