1.The Israeli Wine Industry
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The Israeli WHOOccupation PROFITS Industry ............ .... .......Forbidden .... .. ... ................... Fruit .... ....... .. The Israeli Wine Industry and the Occupation April 2011 The Coalition of Women for Peace was es- tablished by bringing together ten feminist peace organizations and non-affiliated ac- tivist women in Israel. Founded soon after the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000, CWP today is a leading voice against the occupation, committed to feminist principles of organization and Jewish-Palestinian partnership, in a relentless struggle for a just peace. CWP continuously voices a critical position against militarism and advo- cates for radical social and political change. Its work includes direct action and public campaigning in Israel and internationally; a pioneering inves- tigative project exposing the occupation industry; outreach to Israeli au- diences and political empowerment of women across communities; and, capacity-building and support for grassroots activists and initiatives for peace and justice. www.coalitionofwomen.org | [email protected] Who Profits from the Occupation is a re- The Israeli WHOOccupation search project of the Coalition of Women for Industry PROFITS Peace. Initiated in response to the Palestin- ian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) on Israel, this research project is dedicated to exposing the commercial involvement of Israeli and international companies in the continuing Israeli control over Palestinian and Syrian land. The project publishes information about these compa- nies on its website (www.whoprofits.org), produces in-depth reports and serves as an information center. www.whoprofits.org | [email protected] P.O.Box 29214 Tel Aviv 61292, Israel Tel: 972-3-5281005 Forbidden Fruit The Israeli Wine Industry and the Occupation 2 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................ 5 Methodology ..................................................................................... 8 Part I: What is settlement wine? ....................................................................... 9 1. The Israeli Wine Industry: Historical Overview .................. 9 2. Settler vineyards in the occupied West Bank ...................... 11 2.1 Planting vineyards to take over Palestinian land ...... 12 2.2 Government support of the settlement grape industry ........................................................................ 17 2.3 Settlement wine tourism ................................................... 19 3. Concealing grape origins in marketing Israeli wines ................................................................................... 21 3.1 Wines of the new world ....................................................... 21 3.2 Renaming Israeli wine regions to conceal grape origins ......................................................................... 22 3.3 Obscuring the origin of the grapes by Israeli wine producers .................................................................... 24 Part II: The Wineries ................................................................................................. 26 4. The Major Israeli Wineries ........................................................ 26 4.1 Carmel Winery ...................................................................... 26 4.1.1 The case of Yatir Winery ............................................ 27 4.1.2 Vineyards in Mevo Horon ....................................... 29 4.2 Barkan Winery ....................................................................... 30 Forbidden Fruit The Israeli Wine Industry and the Occupation 3 4.3 Golan Heights Winery ...................................................... 32 4.4 Teperberg 1870 Winery ..................................................... 34 4.5 Binyamina Winery ............................................................... 35 4.6 Tishbi Winery ....................................................................... 37 5. Settlement wineries in the occupied Golan Heights ........... 40 6. Settlement wineries in the occupied West Bank .............. 41 Appendix: Responses from Wineries ............................................................ 44 Forbidden Fruit The Israeli Wine Industry and the Occupation 4 Introduction This report maps the involvement of the Galilee regions. And 23% are grown in Israeli wine industry in the occupation the central mountain chain and the Jeru- of the West Bank and the Syrian Golan salem Mountains. Our research demon- Heights and traces some of the ways in strates that all of the major Israeli winer- which it masks this involvement. For this ies use grapes from occupied territory in purpose, we have surveyed the Israeli their wines. This report provides detailed wine industry, mapped the vineyards information about these wine producers and wineries in the occupied territory and their connection to the settlement and traced the connections between the wine industry. Additionally, this report main Israeli wine producers and this set- provides a survey of almost all of the set- tlement industry. tlement wineries in the Golan Heights and in the West Bank.3 Currently, there are 6 large wineries and dozens of medium and small wineries, total- ing over 150 wineries,1 and about 12,000 acres of vineyards.2 Approxi- mately 82% of the mar- ket is controlled by the five largest wine produc- ers, 12% by medium pro- ducers and 6% by small/ boutique wineries. 40% Dolev vineyards in the Ramallah region. The houses on the right hand side of the grapes are grown are of the settlement of Dolev and in the background is the settlement of in the Golan Heights and Talmon. Photo: ET 1 Tzachi Dotan, CEO of Israel Wine Board, in an interview at: 3 Additional information about vineyards and wineries that are Ra’anan Rogel, “Wine consumption in Israel – How much longer in the occupied territory or are commercially connected to cul- only 6?”, August 29, 2008. Available online: http://bit.ly/X7tzq tivation of grapes in settlements can be found on our website at www.whoprofits.org. 2 Rogov, Daniel. 2010. Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines 2010. Toby Press, London and Jerusalem, p. 9. Forbidden Fruit The Israeli Wine Industry and the Occupation 5 Investigating the connections of the Is- ritory. Our research has found that in ad- raeli wine industry to settler vineyards, dition to the benefits that all commercial we found that while grapes from the activities in settlements enjoy, including Golan Heights are used quite openly, readily accessible land, tax benefits and the wineries that use grapes from West other financial incentives provided by Bank vineyards most often use a myriad the Israeli government, the wine industry of methods to conceal their origins. The in the West Bank enjoys particular ben- efits and support from several gov- ernment offices. For instance, Is- raelis who culti- vate vineyards on occupied terri- tory are allocated subsidized wa- ter quotas; they receive funds from the Minis- try of Agriculture Newly planted vineyards next to the West Bank settlment of Mevo Horon. for planting and Photo: Tamar Berger building agricul- following report describes some of these tural facilities, from the Ministry of De- methods, from those used by govern- fense for paving roads and for fencing in ment export agencies to those used by the plots and from the Ministry of Tour- individual exporters. ism for turning the vineyards and winer- ies into tourist attractions. This report also aims to provide a compre- hensive portrayal of the incentives of the Our research has found that developing Israeli wine industry to cultivate grapes vineyards and wineries provides addi- and to develop wineries in occupied ter- tional advantages for settlers in the West Forbidden Fruit The Israeli Wine Industry and the Occupation 6 Bank. The planting of vineyards is actu- both public and private Palestinian land. ally a relatively easy and highly acces- Additionally, this chapter provides infor- sible means for taking over Palestinian mation about government support that land, due to a combination of legal and these vineyards are eligible for from sev- physical conditions. Additionally, settlers eral government offices and explores the both in the West Bank and in the Golan ways in which vineyards and wineries in Heights have found that the wine indus- settlements are used to attract tourists. try can be used in order to develop tour- ism to the settlements, for local and inter- The third chapter of this section exposes national visitors alike. Tourist attractions the principal ways in which the origin of do not only serve as an additional source grapes from vineyards in occupied ter- of income for the settlements, but, more ritory is masked or concealed. We have importantly, they operate to normalize identified three major factors which aid and promote the entire settlement enter- in obscuring the origin of the grapes. prise. The first relates to the characterization of wines which are categorized as new- This report is comprised of two parts. The world wines, the second is a politically first provides the background of the Is- motivated re-drawing of wine regions raeli wine industry and its connections to in Israel, which deliberately obscures the the settlement enterprise. The first chap- occupied regions, and the third traces the ter of this portion of the report surveys ways in which wine producers denote the the history of the Israeli wine industry,