CASE UPDATE: Psâgot Winery to return to Canadian court

Dear friends,

I wanted to update you on our case defending the rights of Psâgot Winery to maintain its rightful "Made in Israel" product label. We have received notice from the Federal Court of Appeal in Canada that the Appeal Hearing will take place on May 5, 2021, during which our team will make submissions on behalf of Psâgot Winery, including submissions on why the court process to date was procedurally unfair for deciding the wine-labeling issue without input from Psâgot Winery as to why its wines are, in fact, products of Israel.

You may remember that The Lawfare Project and Toronto-based litigation firm RE-LAW LLP had brought a motion on behalf of Psâgot Winery to Canada's Federal Court of Appeal in response to a discriminatory lower court ruling that products made by Jewish-owned businesses in Israeli territories cannot be labeled "Products of Israel." Despite the fact that the court ruling directly affects Psâgot's business, the winery was not included in the lower court case. In our motion to the Federal Court of Appeal, we were successful in having Psâgot Winery added as a party to the case.

The Lawfare Project is proud to support Psâgot — a family-owned business with two decades of winemaking experience and international acclaim as producers of "Israeli Wine" — in its bid to Canada's Federal Court of Appeal. Psâgot Winery has a right to be heard and involved in an appeal of the lower court's decision. The Lawfare Project has also supported legal action against anti-Semitic labeling requirements at the Court of Justice of the European Union, an effort which was affirmed by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when he issued guidelines stating that Israeli-made goods from Judea and Samaria are to be labeled as "Made in Israel."

With your support, we will continue to fight to ensure that Jewish-owned businesses in Israel are not subject to unfair and unlawful discrimination. Stay tuned for more updates from The Lawfare Project on this important case.

Sincerely,

Brooke Goldstein
Executive Director, The Lawfare Project