South Africa remains an apartheid state, says Danny Ayalon

Israel condemned on Wednesday a new South African regulation requiring that products made in Judea and Samaria be labeled as coming from "occupied Palestinian territory," instead of bearing the former "Made in Israel" label.

The plan was introduced for the first time about three months ago by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, and Jewish and pro-Israel organizations in South Africa have since tried to thwart it, unsuccessfully. Davies specifically cited Ahava products, along with soft drinks and technology imports being distributed as products originating in Israel, "whereas they originate from the occupied Palestinian territories.”

According to the Business Day newspaper, the move could hamper Israeli companies wanting to do business in South Africa and affect large local retailers that stock merchandise from Israel.

In an official statement published on Wednesday, the South African cabinet said it had "approved that a notice in terms of the Consumer Protection Act 2008 be issued by the minister of trade and industry requiring the labeling of goods or products emanating from IOTs [Israeli Occupied Territories] to prevent consumers being led to believe that such goods come from Israel. This is in line with South Africa’s stance that recognizes the 1948 borders delineated by the United Nations and does not recognise occupied territories beyond these borders as being part of the State of Israel."

Pro-Palestinian groups have been promoting a campaign to boycott Israeli products and withdraw investments from Israeli companies.

The EU does not grant the same customs concessions to products made in settlements as it does to those made in Israel, a policy that has drawn Israeli protests.

Israel slammed South Africa's decision, with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon saying, "Unfortunately, it appears that changes in South Africa over the years have not led to a truly fundamental change to the country and it remains an apartheid state."

The move "is without precedent, as no such measure has ever been adopted in South Africa or in any other country. It constitutes therefore a blatant discrimination based on national and political distinction," a statement released by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said. "This kind of discrimination has not been imposed, and rightly so, in any other case of national, territorial or ethnic conflict. Israel and South Africa have political differences, and that is legitimate. What is totally unacceptable is the use of tools which, by essence, discriminate and single out, fostering a general boycott. Such exclusion and discrimination bring to mind ideas of racist nature which the government of South Africa, more than any other, should have wholly rejected."

The statement added that the South African ambassador in Israel was to be summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on Thursday for clarification of his country's action.

Danny Dayan, the chairman of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, said on Wednesday that the South African decision "is not a private matter relating only to the residents of the West Bank, but to the State of Israel in general. We expect the Foreign Ministry to take any diplomatic, economic and commercial measures against South Africa which are necessary to bring about a cancellation of this decision."

Last week, South African Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim defended his comments discouraging South Africans from visiting Israel.

According to South African media, Ebrahim said Israel was the only country in the world whose human rights abuses had been condemned by the entire international community.

“Israel has occupied Palestinian territory for over 60 years,” he said. “Unlike other countries where there is a process to resolve the problem, there’s no process [in Israel].”

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