Senators urge Trump to alter policy to permit 'Made in Israel' label on products from Judea, Samaria

Four Republican senators urged President Trump in a letter this week to alter U.S. customs policy and guidelines by allowing the inclusion of a "Made in Israel" label on products made in Judea and Samaria.

Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Marco Rubio of Florida, Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and Ted Cruz of Texas all signed onto the letter dated Nov. 16th.

The letter mentions guidelines from President Clinton's tenure – which the Obama administration republished – that called for "Made in West Bank" labels on products from the region, although the senators said that they understand that the policy does not get enforced.

"In 2016, the Obama administration republished country-of-origin labeling guidelines introduced by the Clinton administration in 1995," the letter notes. "These Clinton-era guidelines changed longstanding U.S. policy to require 'Made in West Bank' labels to be put on Israeli goods produced in Judea and Samaria, even though the U.S. government treats these products as 'articles of Israel' for trade purposes. While it is our understanding that this labeling policy is not enforced by U.S. authorities, we are concerned that a future administration could choose to enforce these rules and thereby differentiate Israeli goods produced in Judea and Samaria, making them prime targets for BDS boycotts," the letter said in a reference to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

"Your administration should continue its string of pro-Israel policy changes by undoing these misguided Clinton-era guidelines, thereby allowing Israeli goods produced in Judea and Samaria to be labeled as ‘Made in Israel.' This decision would be yet another achievement by your administration that would support Israel and would push back against anti-Semitism and the BDS movement," the senators said.