VICTORY! Canada strikes down "Made in Israel" labeling ban, aligning with US policies
Dear friends,
I’m excited to share with you breaking news from Canada, where we just scored a major victory on behalf of Psâgot Winery as part of our ongoing work to defend Jewish producers from discriminatory commercial attacks. We just received word that the Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's ruling and declared that the discriminatory labeling requirements are no longer binding on our client or anyone else!
You may remember when a radical political "activist" brought a case in Canadian Federal Court, arguing it was "unreasonable" for Canada's Food Inspection Agency to allow "Made in Israel" labels on products made by Jewish-owned businesses in Judea and Samaria. In October, The Lawfare Project and our partner firm, RE-LAW LLP, were successful in our motion for Psâgot to be added as a respondent in this case.
After months of hard work by our talented legal team, the Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court decision cannot stand. The original judge improperly assessed the case and her decision prohibiting Psâgot's "Made in Israel" label is not binding.
For years, all goods imported into Canada from all of Israel have been processed and labeled as "Products of Israel" without issue. Thankfully, this can now continue in Canada, just as it does in the United States.
"This decision once again aligns US and Canadian labeling policies, allowing Psâgot to export wine to North America without the commercial challenge of navigating a patchwork of arbitrary and discriminatory rules. Make no mistake, anyone who wants to treat a Jewish-owned business differently than a Muslim- or Christian-owned business located in the same territory is promulgating a racist policy."
– Brooke Goldstein, Executive Director of The Lawfare Project
"Psâgot wines are made in Israel by an Israeli company that pays Israeli taxes and is subject to Israeli law. I am glad the Canadian Court of Appeal recognized the unreasonableness of denying them the right to include their country of origin on their bottles."
– Yaakov Berg, CEO of Psâgot Winery
"Consumer product labels exist to protect consumers. Weaponizing label requirements for political attacks against Jewish-owned businesses is not just a commercial threat to the targeted businesses, it also undermines trust in consumer safety information."
– David Elmaleh, Partner at RE-LAW LLP
Your continued support allows us to defend Jewish-owned businesses from discrimination in courts around the world. We simply could not do it without you.
Sincerely,
Brooke Goldstein
Executive Director, The Lawfare Project