Israeli “nationalists” declared a victory last Thursday when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced during a visit to the Psagot winery in northern Judea that the United States will permit products from Israel’s disputed Samaria and Judea regions to be officially labeled “Made in Israel.”
“This approach recognizes that Area C producers operate within the economic and administrative framework of Israel, and their goods should be treated accordingly,” Pompeo said in a statement.
“This update will also eliminate confusion by recognizing that producers in other parts of the West Bank are for all practical purposes administratively separate and that their goods should be marked accordingly.”
Pompeo’s visit to the Psagot Winery marks the first official visit by any senior US representative to a Jewish community or business in the West Bank.
But let’s not celebrate so fast. The behavior of everyone who celebrated Pompeo’s visit and statement reveals a shallow national consciousness and sense of historical perspective.
Firstly, Pompeo’s announcement of recognizing products made in Judea and Samaria only applies to Area C, hence the recognition itself is only limited to parts of the West Bank (still excluding other portions of the Jewish homeland).
More importantly, the celebration of recognition by the empire is embarrassing, and actually displays the furthest thing from a deep national consciousness.
What expresses this absurd situation most ironically is the plastic replica of the ancient Judean “L’Ḥerut Tzion” (“for the freedom of Zion”) coin Psagot likes to feature on their bottles. These coins were minted by Jewish rebels fighting to free Judea from the imperial rule during our Great Revolt against ancient Rome. Now they’re featured on bottles from a winery that celebrates imperial permission and validation to Jews living in Judea (the winery’s owner, Yaakov Burg, actually gifted one of these antique coins to Pompeo during the visit).
Using an ancient symbol of Jewish freedom and independence as their logo and then naming a wine after a foreign diplomat “generously” acknowledging our right to be here is clearly contradictory.
If US officials want to recognize our connection to the cradle of Jewish civilization, that’s great – for them. But Israeli rightists need to stop embarrassing our people by fawning over any foreigner – especially a representative of the empire we need to break free from – for merely acknowledging the legitimacy of our presence in our land.
Let’s demonstrate some self-respect.
