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Canadian government reviewing court decision prohibiting West Bank wine labeled ‘Products of Israel’

The court decision was part of a three-year legal dispute over bottles of Psagot Winery and Shiloh Winery from the West Bank.

Psagot Winery lables. Credit: Psagotwines.com.
Psagot Winery lables. Credit: Psagotwines.com.

Canada’s government has been “carefully reviewing” a federal court decision from last month that wine made in Judea and Samaria cannot be labeled as “products of Israel.”

The Canada Food Inspection Agency emailed The Hill Times that “the Government of Canada is carefully reviewing the Federal Court ruling issued on July 29, 2019.”

The court decision was part of a three-year legal dispute over bottles of Psagot Winery and Shiloh Winery from the West Bank, reported the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

The ruling meant that the Canada Food Inspection Agency would decide how the wines should be labeled after having originally stripped them of the label in July 2017.

“There are few things as difficult and intractable as Middle East politics, and the presence of Israeli settlements in the West Bank raises difficult, deeply felt and sensitive political issues,” Justice Anne Mactavish wrote in her decision.

“One peaceful way in which people can express their political views is through their purchasing decisions. To be able to express their views in this manner, however, consumers have to be provided with accurate information as to the source of the products in question,” she stated.

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