In November 2015, the European Union (EU) took the calculated step of imposing new labeling guidelines on certain Israeli exports produced in areas that came under Israeli control during the defensive 1967 Six-Day War. Though billed as mere “compliance” with long-standing European policy, the EU’s new foray into labeling marks a significant step in a dedicated campaign to pressure Israel into sensitive, unilateral concessions to the Palestinians. The EU’s action—taken outside the context of peace negotiations—is designed to impose Brussels’ vision of Israel’s future borders. These commercial attacks against Israel increase the prospect of isolating the Jewish state, while strengthening its most vitriolic critics and slowing the pursuit of peace.
Europe has pursued a policy of "differentiation" for nearly a decade—treating Israel as two distinct entities, one legitimate, one not—often cast in the mundane language of law and commerce. To wit, though Israel's first free trade accord was with the European Union, and it remains Israel's largest export market, the EU in 2004 disqualified Israeli exports produced in areas acquired during the Six-Day War from the preferential treatment afforded all other Israeli products.
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