A Dutch court on Wednesday rejected the petition of a local importer and a Jewish group against the government’s decision to ban the import of goods made or marketed by Israelis in Judea and Samaria.
In their petition for an injunction against the ban, which the government said would come into effect next week, the Israel Product Center and the European Jewish Association (IPC and EJA, respectively) listed five reasons, including E.U. regulations that ensure trade across the bloc, and the freedom of commerce of Dutch citizens.
The Court of The Hague said the EJA, which is a Belgian organization, had no legal standing in the Netherlands and therefore cannot be considered as a petitioner.
IPC’s petition “cannot be granted on any of the five grounds,” according to the ruling. “For the time being, the interest served by the trade bans in the Sanctions Decree is amply outweighed by the interests that, according to IPC, are harmed thereby.”
Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, who was involved in the case as a representative of the EJA, told JNS the ruling is “worrisome” and makes Dutch Jews feel “uneasy.” Dutch Jews are broadly associated with Israel in Dutch society, Jacobs said, “so this is interpreted by some as a move on Jews in general, a signal it’s OK to target us.”
According to the decree announced in July, intentional violations of the ban will be considered a criminal act and will carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison or a fine of up to €103,000 ($117,000)
IPC is the Netherlands’ largest importer of products from Judea and Samaria.
The ban would force IPC to stop importing some 20,000 wine bottles that it orders annually from Judea, Samaria or the Golan Heights. These bottles, bought for about €100,000 ($116,000), account for 3-5% of IPC’s imports overall, according to Roger van Oordt, the former director of Christians for Israel and the honorary consul in the Netherlands.
Pieter van Oordt, the brother of Roger and Frank and the director of IPC, said in a statement following the ruling: “We are disappointed with the judge’s ruling. In our opinion, the proposed trade ban has far-reaching and disproportionate consequences for the Israel Products Center, for Israel, for the Jewish community, and for local Palestinian workers who depend on the companies in question for their income. We will use the coming period to further study the judgment and consider next steps.”
