View source for Psagot

{{Short description|Israeli settlement in the West Bank}}
{{For|the Israeli investment firm|Psagot Investment House}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox Israel village
| name = Psagot
| image = Psagot Settlement.JPG
| founded = 1981
| country =
| founded_by = [[Beit VeGan]] residents
| region = [[West Bank]]
| district = js
| council = [[Mateh Binyamin Regional Council|Mateh Binyamin]]
| affiliation = [[Amana (organization)|Amana]]
| popyear = {{Israel populations|Year}}
| population = {{Israel populations|Pesagot}}
| population_footnotes={{Israel populations|reference}}
| pushpin_map=Israel binyamin |pushpin_mapsize=250 |pushpin_label_position=bottom
|coordinates = {{coord|31|53|57|N|35|13|26|E|display=inline,title}}
| website =
}}
'''Psagot''' ({{langx|he|פְּסָגוֹת||Peaks}}) is an [[Israeli settlement]] in the [[West Bank]], located on Tawil hill, adjacent to the [[State of Palestine|Palestinian]] cities of [[Ramallah]] and [[al-Bireh]]. Established in 1981, it is organised as a [[community settlement (Israel)|community settlement]] and falls under the jurisdiction of [[Mateh Binyamin Regional Council|Binyamin Regional Council]], with the council's [[headquarter]]s located there.<ref name="hareuveni">{{Cite book|title=Lexicon of the Land of Israel|year=1999|author=HaReuveni, Immanuel|publisher=Miskal – Yedioth Ahronoth Books|page=795|isbn=965-448-413-7}}</ref> In {{Israel populations|Year}} it had a population of {{Israel populations|Pesagot}}.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank [[International law and Israeli settlements|illegal under international law]], but the Israeli government disputes this.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm |title=The Geneva Convention |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=10 December 2009 |access-date=27 November 2010 }}</ref>
The Israeli ''Psagot Winery'' was established in the settlement on privately owned Palestinian land; a demolition order ([[Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories|COGAT Order]] 252/03)<ref name="Kattenburg" /> was issued by the Israeli authorities against the winery as, even under Israeli law, the Israeli building over privately-owned land was illegal. As of 2019, the order had yet to be enforced.<ref name=":0" />
==Etymology==
The name Psagot was proposed by one of the early residents, [[Moshe Bar-Asher]], a professor and head of the [[Academy of the Hebrew Language]]. It expresses the hope that the new village will achieve a peak in settlement and study of the [[Torah]].<ref name="Hoberman">{{cite book | last=Hoberman | first=Haggai| year=2008| title=Keneged Kol HaSikuim | edition=1st | language=he|trans-title=Against All Odds| publisher=Sifriat Netzarim |pages=196–7}}</ref> The name also refers to the location of Psagot on the peak of Mount Tawil.<ref name="hareuveni" />
==History==
The Arabic name of the hill is Jabel Tawil (long mountain).<ref>{{cite book | author = E. H. Palmer|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer | title = The Survey of Western Palestine | volume = Arabic and English name lists | year = 1881 | location = London | publisher = The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund | page = [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/296/mode/1up 296]}}</ref>
[[File:MatehBinyamin09.jpg|thumb|Mateh Binyamin regional council headquarters, Psagot]]
In the wake of the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], and after the [[1949 Armistice Agreements]], Jabel Tawil came under [[Jordan]]ian rule. It was [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|annexed by Jordan]] in 1950.
Before 1967, Jabel Tawil was known to locals as "Kuwaiti hill" because of numerous visitors from the Persian Gulf who hiked in the area.<ref name="FutureArch">{{cite journal|last=Hilal|first=Sandi|author2=Alessandro Petti |author3=Eyal Weizman |title=The Future Archaeology of Israel's Colonisation|journal=Afterall Journal|date=Spring 2009|issue=20|url=http://www.afterall.org/journal/issue.20/future.archaeology.israels.colonisation}}</ref><ref name="Hoberman" /> In 1964, some of the land was purchased by the Jerusalem municipality for a future tourist resort.<ref name="FutureArch" /> In the [[Six-Day War]], it came under [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli occupation]]. From September 1976, Arabs were prohibited from building in the area.<ref>{{Cite book | publisher = Inst for Palestine Studies | last = Arab Women's Information Committee |author2=Lebanese Association for Information on Palestine | title = The Arabs Under Israeli Occupation, 1980 | date = 1 January 1977 | page = 67 }}</ref>
According to [[Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem|ARIJ]], Israel confiscated 780 [[dunams]] of land from the nearby [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] town of [[Al-Bireh]] in order to construct  Psagot.<ref>[http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/vprofile/Al%20Bireh_tp_en.pdf  Al Bireh City Profile] ARIJ, p. 17</ref>
There is also an archaeological site near some of the [[Caravillas]] on the hill of Psagot.
In 1981, [[Ariel Sharon]], then [[Ministry of Defense (Israel)|Israeli Minister of Defense]], told [[Pinchas Wallerstein]], head of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, that he would support initiatives to settle the area.<ref name="Hoberman"/> In July 1981, Wallerstein moved the council headquarters to the hill, then occupied by a [[Military Intelligence Directorate (Israel)|military intelligence]] base. Five families from the [[Jerusalem]] neighborhood of [[Beit VeGan]] took up residence there. A year later, they were joined by a group from the [[Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh|Kerem B'Yavneh yeshiva]] who came to create a [[kollel]].<ref name=FutureArch /><ref name="Hoberman"/>[[File:Oil press.jpg|thumb|An underground oil press]]
[[File:Mikveh - Ritual bath.jpg|thumb|One of the two Hasmonean mikveh found in the excavation ]]
== Israeli–Palestinian conflict ==
[[File:Ramallah "Island" in the 2018 OCHA OpT map Ramallah (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Psagot adjacent to the Ramallah "Island" in a 2018 map]]
According to [[B'Tselem]], Psagot prevents the expansion of Ramallah and cuts it off from the surrounding villages.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brightonpsc.org/|title=Brighton & Hove Palestine Campaign – Supporting the struggle to achieve a just and lasting peace for Palestine|website=www.brightonpsc.org}}</ref> During the course of the [[Second Intifada]], snipers shot at Psagot from buildings in Ramallah, leading to the construction of a concrete wall to protect the inhabitants. In 2001, the [[Israel Defense Forces|Israeli army]] stationed nearby fired two missiles into Ramallah targeting [[Marwan Barghouti]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Whitaker|first=Brian|title=The summit of Middle East tension|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/03/israel|access-date=28 October 2010|newspaper=Guardian|date=3 September 2001}}</ref>
In November 2009, the Psagot settlement and [[Regavim (NGO)|Regavim]] petitioned the [[Israeli High Court of Justice|High Court of Justice]] in an unsuccessful attempt to stop construction of the Al-Bireh International Stadium, citing security concerns.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hass|first=Amira|title=Settlers petition to tear down nearby Palestinian stadium|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/settlers-petition-to-tear-down-nearby-palestinian-stadium-1.3311|access-date=31 October 2010|newspaper=Ha'aretz|date=27 November 2009}}</ref>
The [[Sasson Report]] identified Psagot as the "parent settlement" of an [[Israeli outpost]] known as Mitzpe HaAi ({{langx|he|מִצְפֵּה הָעָי}}) located approximately 400 m to the southeast.<ref>''Opinion on Unauthorized Settlements'', Prime Minister's Office, 2005, Appendix I, "Detailed list of settlements", p. 37</ref> According to the report, the settlement, unauthorized by the government, was built on land appropriated illegally from its [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] owners. According to [[Peace Now]] 75.69% of the combined area of Psagot and Mitzpe HaAi is on appropriated private land.<ref>[http://www.peacenow.org.il/data/SIP_STORAGE/files/0/2240.doc Psagot and Mitzpe Ha'ai (outpost)] {{dead link|date=May 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Peace Now.</ref>
==Status under international law==
The international community considers Israeli settlements to violate the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]]'s prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3333727.stm The settlers' struggle] BBC News. 19 December 2003</ref>
Israel disputes the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention and argues that the Palestinian territories were not legally held by a sovereign when Israel took control of them. This view has been rejected by the [[International Court of Justice]] and the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]].<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706021237/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf |date=6 July 2010 }} International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44-45</ref>
==Psagot Winery==
[[File:Secretary Pompeo Tours and Has Lunch at Psagot Winery (50620995648).jpg|thumb|Casks of wine at Psagot Winery]]
The Psagot Winery was founded by Na’ama and Yaakov Berg, who started to plant vineyards either in 1998,<ref name="haaretz.com">[http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/capitol-letter-where-you-stand-changes-the-view-1.400264 Where you stand changes the view], [[Haaretz]]</ref> or 2002.<ref name="Kattenburg" /> Berg, who immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union, is the CEO.<ref name="Kattenburg" >David Kattenburg, [https://mondoweiss.net/2019/11/inside-the-mind-of-an-israeli-settler/ 'Inside the mind of an Israeli settler,'] [[Mondoweiss]] 13 November 2019.</ref> According to the Independent, in 2007 the Falic family of Florida, who own Duty Free America, purchased 32,000 shares  in Psagot winery for 4.1 million shekels, becoming majority shareholders and directors.<ref name = Falic>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/palestine-israel-land-us-falic-psagot-duty-free-land-a8989086.html|title=US Duty Free magnates bankrolled expansion of Israeli settlement vineyard over Palestinian land|publisher=Independent |date=6 July 2019|access-date = 12 November 2019 }}</ref> In addition to a modern barrel cellar, some of the oak barriques are stored in a cave dating back to the [[Second Temple]] era. The winery's top wine is a Bordeaux blend named Edom. Regular varietal wines are produced in the Psagot series and there is also a Port-style wine. In 2007 and 2008, the winery produced 65,000 bottles annually.<ref name="rogov">[http://www.israeli-wine.org/2009/05/12/rogovs-reviews-psagot-winery/ Psagot Winery] at Rogov's Reviews</ref> In 2010, the winery produced 80,000 bottles of wine a year, the majority for export. By 2015, the number produced had grown to 250,000 bottles per year, of which 65% are exported.<ref name="The Economist">{{cite news|title=Europe steps up pressure on Israel over its settlements|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21678251-europe-steps-up-pressure-israel-over-its-settlements-stick-label-it|access-date=15 November 2015|work=[[The Economist]]|date=12 November 2015}}</ref> Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews work there side by side which, according to Akiva Novick, creates an island of co-existence in sea of mistrust.<ref name="Akiva Novick">[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3943748,00.html Peace with a paycheck], [[YNET]], by Akiva Novick, 08.25.10</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israeli-settlers-defy-eu-by-labeling-their-goods-blessings-of-israel/2015/11/28/fd5451c0-91eb-11e5-befa-99ceebcbb272_story.html|title='Blessings of Israel': Settlers find new ways to label products after E.U. decision|first=Ruth|last=Eglash|date=29 November 2015|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref> The American evangelical Christian organization HaYovel has sent volunteers to tend and harvest Psagot Winery's vineyards.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jeffay|first=Nathan|title=Christians Called To Serve Jewish Settlers|url=http://forward.com/articles/153524/christians-called-to-serve-jewish-settlers/?p=all|access-date=7 April 2012|newspaper=[[The Forward]]|date=25 March 2012}}</ref> Non-Jews are not allowed to work in the vineyard itself, for [[Kashrut|kosher]] reasons.<ref name="Akiva Novick" /> Berg says calls to boycott his wines have only increased demand.<ref name="haaretz.com"/> The winery has developed into "a favourite destination" for right-wing Israeli and American politicians.<ref name="The Economist"/> Other wineries exist around Psagot, and the [[Yesha Council]] hopes to make them a tourist attraction. According to the local Palestinians and the Israeli human rights group [[Yesh Din]], the wineries are partially planted on privately owned Palestinian land.<ref name="bbc">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8101110.stm Settler vineyards take root in West Bank] BBC. 17 June 2009</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Meet the Settlers|last=Wallis Simons|first=Jake | website=Telegraph.co.uk | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/meetthesettlers/chapter6.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914023411/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/meetthesettlers/chapter6.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=2013-09-14| access-date=2018-05-22|quote=The Psagot Boutique Winery, which was established in 2003 just outside the Palestinian capital of Ramallah, is one of the largest, producing 200,000 bottles per year and covering 62 acres. According to the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, it partially lies on private Palestinian land.}}</ref> Israeli officials confirmed that the Berg house lies atop a quarter hectare of privately owned Palestinian land; in 2003 a demolition order ([[Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories|COGAT Order]] 252/03)<ref name="Kattenburg" /> was issued by the Israeli authorities against Mr Berg’s home as, even under Israeli law, his decision to build on the privately owned land is illegal. As of 2019, the order had yet to be enforced.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-palestine-wine-vineyards-west-bank-psagot-settlement-eu-a8959301.html|title=Grapes of wrath: how wine could bottle the Israeli-Palestinian peace process |work=[[The Independent]] |date=14 June 2019|access-date = 12 November 2019 }}</ref>
Writing in November 2019, [[Gideon Levy]] and  [[Alex Levac]] noted: <blockquote>"The land is owned by Palestinians, with documents to prove it – but is now the site of a Jewish winery."[..] "This is the estate of Yaakov Berg, CEO of the Psagot winery, in the central West Bank. Berg’s house stands on section 233 of bloc No. 17. This property belongs to two sisters, Amal and Keinat Quran and their cousin, Karima – but they don’t have any access to it. The grapes are planted on sections 219-220, which is owned by Huria Quran, another relative. That petite, elderly woman is also unable to get to her property."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191122234609/https://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/.premium.MAGAZINE-something-s-rotten-at-this-settlement-winery-and-we-don-t-mean-the-grapes-1.8162261 Something's rotten at this settlement winery – and we don't mean the grapes], Nov. 21, 2019, [[Haaretz]]</ref></blockquote>
In November 2020, US Secretary of State [[Mike Pompeo]] became the first top US official to visit an Israeli settlement including the Psagot Winery.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54999008 |title=Pompeo makes unprecedented visit to Israeli settlement in West Bank |website=BBC |date=19 November 2020 }}</ref>
===EU legal proceedings===
The company initiated legal proceedings in Europe to try to reverse regulations requiring settlement produce to be labelled.<ref name = Falic /> On 12 November 2019 the Court of Justice of the European Union in a ruling<ref>{{cite web | url=https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2019-11/cp190140en.pdf | title=Foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the State of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin, accompanied, where those foodstuffs come from an Israeli settlement within that territory, by the indication of that provenance | publisher=Court of Justice of the European Union | date=12 November 2019 | access-date=17 April 2020 }}</ref> covering all territory Israel captured in the 1967 war decided that labels on foodstuffs must not imply that goods produced in occupied territory came from Israel itself and must "prevent consumers from being misled as to the fact that the State of Israel is present in the territories concerned as an occupying power and not as a sovereign entity". In its ruling, the court said that failing to inform EU consumers they were potentially buying goods produced in settlements denies them access to "ethical considerations and considerations relating to the observance of international law".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-court-israel-settlements/eu-court-rules-goods-from-israeli-settlements-must-be-labeled-idUSKBN1XM1WU|title=EU court rules goods from Israeli settlements must be labeled |publisher=Reuters |date=12 November 2019|access-date = 12 November 2019 }}</ref>
===Canadian legal proceedings===
The [[Winnipeg]]  Jewish university instructor David Kattenburg won a similar judgement in a Canadian court against the fraudulent branding of settlement wines for export, naming the Psagot products on sale in his country.<ref>Brennan Doherty, [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/canada-cfia-wine-israel-1.4239149 'Man challenges CFIA ruling that West Bank wines are 'products of Israel']  [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] 8 August 2017.</ref><ref name="Kattenburg" /><ref>Ron Csillag, [https://www.cjnews.com/news/canada/west-bank-wines-cant-be-called-israeli-court-finds 'West Bank wines can’t be called Israeli, court finds'], [[Canadian Jewish News|CJN]] 29 July 2019.</ref> In May 2021, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed a government appeal and ordered CFIA to explain its decision. Kattenburg submitted information to CFIA in September 2021 showing that the Psagot Winery was situated entirely on Palestinian property. In May 13, 2022, the CFIA reaffirmed its original decision.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mondoweiss.net/2022/05/canadian-agency-rules-produce-of-israel-labels-violate-canadian-law/|title=Canadian agency rules "Produce of Israel" labels violate Canadian law|date=16 May 2022|website=Mondoweiss}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Mateh Binyamin Regional Council}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Israeli settlements in the West Bank]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1981]]
[[Category:Mateh Binyamin Regional Council]]
[[Category:1981 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate]]
[[Category:Community settlements]]