American Embassy Apologizes for 'Settler' Gifts - Israel Today

American Embassy Apologizes for 'Settler' Gifts

Thursday, September 22, 2016 |  Israel Today Staff

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Just in case anyone forgot, the American government does not like Jews living in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and would never intentionally buy anythingfrom those who do.

This week, the American Embassy in Tel Aviv apologized for unwittingly including bottles of wine from a “settler” winery in gift baskets sent out ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

One of the recipients of those baskets was the ultra-leftist organization Peace Now, which made a stink over receiving wine made by filthy Jewish settlers.

The wine in question came from the Zion Winery located in Mishor Adumim, the industrial area of the large Jerusalem suburb of Ma’aleh Adumim.

Like the rest of the so-called “West Bank,” Peace Now views Ma’aleh Adumim as occupied Palestinian territory, and the American government agrees.

US Embassy officials explained that they bought the gift baskets “ready made” and did not directly choose the wine that was included. The Americans stressed that Washington’s official position regarding Jewish “settlements” had not changed.

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US Embassy Accidentally Sends “Settlement” Wine as Rosh Hashana Gift By Abra Forman - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

(Shutterstock)

US Embassy Accidentally Sends “Settlement” Wine as Rosh Hashana Gift

By Abra Forman September 20, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“So God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fat places of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine.” Genesis 27:28 (The Israel Bible™)

The United States embassy in Tel Aviv accidentally sent out bottles of wine made in Judea and Samaria as part of an annual holiday gift package to a number of Israeli organizations, including leftist groups, Reuters reported on Monday.

The move was at odds with the State Department’s well-known position on Jewish communities in the West Bank, which it considers the main “obstacle to peace” between Israel and the Palestinians. The US views Jewish “settlements” as illegitimate.

The embassy quickly put out a statement denying that the Rosh Hashana gift signaled a shift in the US’s stance on the issue.

“This should in no way be interpreted as a change of our policy on settlements, which is long-standing and clear,” said an embassy official.

The gift baskets had been purchased from an independent vendor, said the embassy. Embassy officials had not checked the contents of the baskets before distributing them to their recipients.

Among those recipients was Peace Now, an extremely left-wing NGO which advocates for a two-state solution and is virulently against Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, which it refers to as the “Occupied Territories.”

“I’m sure it was an honest mistake,” said a Peace Now member after receiving the gift.

A bottle of Shiraz Cabernet sauvignon from the Zion Winery.

Products made in the biblical heartland have caused their share of controversy. Many companies located in Judea and Samaria have been targeted by the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and last year the European Union moved to label all “settlement”-made products in what Israeli officials lambasted as a “discriminatory” policy.

The wine in the Rosh Hashana basket was produced by the Zion Winery, located in Mishor Adumim, a city east of Jerusalem in Judea. According to a recipient, it was a kosher cabernet sauvignon.

Last December, products made in Judea and Samaria were also sent as diplomatic holiday gifts, albeit very purposefully. Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, distributed gift boxes packed with products from Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights in a pointed political statement against BDS.