European Union headquarters in Brussels. Israeli Jordan Valley farmers told European parliamentarians they will not label their products as coming from “the occupied territories.” Photo: Amio Cajander via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israeli Jordan Valley farmers told European parliamentarians on Wednesday that they would not label their products as coming from “the occupied territories,” despite European Union guidelines that may require them to do so.

A conference held Wednesday in the Jordan Valley was attended by a number of European representatives, including the leader of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache.

David Elhayani, the head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council, said at the conference, “They are demanding that we label agricultural produce. I want to say to everyone who seeks to harm us: Your hope will not be realized….We have no intention of doing what you ask. We will not label our agricultural produce. We are determined to fight this phenomenon and to struggle against this unethical and discriminatory [demand] that has remnants of a dark time.”

Strache expressed his support for the Israeli farmers, saying, “We will do everything to ensure that the boycotts get taken off the agenda.”