Israel: visit of settler leaders to Italy “breaks boycott of Israel”

[Ognir]

http://www.alternativenews.org/english/ ... rael-.html
Israel's Regional Council of Samaria, together with the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, is presenting a visit with politicians and wine growers in northern Italy as a "breaking of the boycott" of Israel.

Dr. Fiorello Provera, Deputy Chairperson of the EU Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, supporters Israeli settlers


A delegation of winegrowers and owners of wineries, led by Head of the Samaria Regional Council Gershon Mesika, conducted what they called a "precedent-setting" visit last week to northern Italy, where according to the settler-affiliated media outlet Arutz 7 they "succeeded in creating a first frontline of European parliament members, mayors, commerce sections and farmers for breaking the economic boycott of Judea and Samaria and promoting agricultural trade between Samaria and northern Italy."

 

Last week visit followed a February 2012 visit to the Samaria Regional Council, the local administrative body for Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank, by Deputy Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the EU Parliament, Dr. Fiorello Provera.

During this visit, Provera told a Knesset conference that he is critical of the EU for treating Israel as a "second-class country, adding that the double standard according to which Israel is being judged "illustrates the new anti-Semitism, a by-product of Islamic fundamentalism."

The settler delegation to northern Italy last week was led by Gershon Mesika, together with Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, Yuli Edelstein. They were joined by wine farmers from northern West Bank settlements, including Rechalim (Tura winery), Har Bracha, Gvaot and Arnon outpost (near Itamar settlement).

In a press conference, Mesika explained that "Samaria (is) the heart of the state of Israel", noting country's small size. However, the settlers actual reasons for colonising the West Bank were noted when he said that "the prophet Jeremiah promised in his biblical prophecy that the people of Israel would return to their land and that vineyards would be planted in the Samarian hills...We are renewing the wine renaissance in Samaria and building this area anew. "

Dr. Provera stated in the press conference that "our friends in Israel have an additional reason to renew the growth of wine – a religious, historical reason, to return their land, the land of Israel, to be a land of milk and honey."

Provera added that "the visit of the people from Samaria is definitely a political statement from our perspective also. I visited Samaria with additional parliament members, and I can certainly say that now we don't call these areas 'West Bank' – but 'Judea and Samaria.'

Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein is quoted in Arutz 7 as stating that "after ten years of delegitimisation against Israel which gave birth to the BDS movement and the boycott of products from Judea and Samaria, we succeeded in returning fire and breaking the boycott. The real connection established between farmers from Samaria and farmers from northern Italy has transformed the attempts at boycott into a farce."
Last Updated on Sunday, 15 July 2012 12:32