Alejandro Mayorkas speaking at the WTTC Global Summit 2016. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Together with 24 pro-Israel Jewish and rabbinic groups, the Zionist Organization of America spearheaded a letter to US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday urging him to maintain the current US policy of labeling goods from Judea and Samaria as “Made in Israel.”

“This is not just a matter of some technical regulations in the Federal Register,” said the 11-page letter. “Real people’s lives and livelihoods are at stake. We would thus be happy to arrange for you to visit the Jewish communities, families, businesses and farms in Areas C and H2 so that you can see for yourself the real people who would be harmed if you rescind the current labeling regulations.”

The letter provided historical, legal, legislative and moral background information explaining why the current regulations should not be changed. It also included the assertion that the policy is “essential” for combating antisemitic discrimination and boycotts against Jewish products “made in the historic Jewish homelands of Judea and Samaria.”

It further explained that current labeling regulations“properly reflect “reality and relevant authorities” since Israel has had ownership of the referenced areas for the past 54 years.