Israel boycott movement furious at UAE over deal to import wine from occupied Golan Heights
The United Arab Emirates signed a deal with Israel to buy wine produced in the settlements of the occupied Golan Heights, prompting a wave of anger among Palestinians and the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has dealt a heavy blow to the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, after it signed a deal Oct. 28 with Israel to sell wine from Syria’s occupied Golan Heights in Dubai. The deal was concluded between the Emirati African + Eastern company that operates in the field of wine and alcohol marketing and the Israeli-owned Golan Heights Winery. The products will be launched in wine stores, hotels and restaurants in Dubai in the next few days.
The Golan Heights Winery was established in 1983, and it was the first of its kind in the Golan Heights after its occupation by Israel in 1967. It relies on the production of eight settlements and agricultural village cooperatives and produces four different types of wine, according to the website of the winery.
The Golan Heights Winery uses 6,300 dunams (1,550 acres) of lands of the occupied territories planted with 20 types of different grapes. Israel forcibly displaced the owners of these lands when it occupied them in 1967, and only 9,000 Syrians, mostly Druzes, remain in the area and inhabit five small villages — Buq'ata, Majdal Shams, Mas'ade, Ain Qenia and Ghajar.
This recent deal constitutes one of the global challenges facing the BDS movement, whose influence is growing by boycotting the products of the settlements built on land occupied in the 1967 war.
