Feds appeal ruling on whether West Bank wine labels can say ‘Product of Israel’

By The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The federal government is appealing a Federal Court ruling that said labelling a wine from the West Bank as a “Product of Israel” was misleading and deceptive.

A notice filed Friday says the government plans to argue that the Federal Court judge erred by saying the Canadian Food Inspection Agency neglected to consider charter rights when it first allowed the labels.

The government is hoping to have quashed the order that required the CFIA to take another look at the issue and decide how the wines should be labelled.

The nearly three-year-old dispute is over whether bottles from the Psagot Winery and Shiloh Winery in the West Bank can be characterized as coming from Israel.

Shortly after the late July ruling, pro-Israel groups urged the government to appeal, and on Friday were applauding the federal move.

A lawyer for the Winnipeg man who first took the CFIA to court over the labels says the government’s decision to appeal is “indefensible.”

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The Canadian Press

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