The South African Jewish Board of Deputies was “very disappointed” with its meeting with Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies on the labeling of products from the West Bank, a board spokeswoman said.

Thursday morning’s meeting with Davies at his office in Cape Town was held to discuss Davies’ proposal to ban labeling products from the West Bank as originating from Israel.

”Minister Davies is truly engaged with his proposal,” spokeswoman Wendy Kahn told JTA. “He is adamant that the notice will come through. We have made clear the point that it would have been more useful to allow South African stakeholders to participate in the elaboration of the proposal in order to find a more balanced way to deal with the issue, but in vain.”

In a notice printed earlier this month in a governmental publication, Davies declared that South African consumers should not be misled into believing that products originating from what he called the OPT, or Occupied Palestinian Territories, are products originating from Israel. Davies specified in his notice some ”misleading labeled products” as “Ahava products, and other Cosmetic brands, technology and soft drinks.”

Kahn said the minister did not propose any constructive way to advance the discussion.

She also said that the Board of Deputies, together with the South Africa Zionist Federation, will make submissions against the proposal, according to the established procedure, and act in other ways, as per the advice of its legal team.

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a matched gift today.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT