Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Announces Boycott of Israeli West Bank Settlements

(Linda Gradstein via JTA)

By Asaf Shalev

(JTA) — Following pressure from pro-Palestinian activists, Ben & Jerry’s announced July 19 that it would stop selling ice cream in “Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

The Vermont-based ice cream brand said it would continue operating in Israel, suggesting that it is planning to pull its products from stores located in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

“We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the company said. “We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners.”

A subsidiary of the British conglomerate Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s also said it will allow its controversial contract with a licensee that manufactures the brand’s ice cream at a facility in Israel proper and distributes it in the region to lapse next year.

The company will maintain a presence in Israel “through a different arrangement” that will be unveiled in the future.

Known for its embrace of progressive politics in its marketing strategy, Ben & Jerry’s has long been a prime target of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that seeks to change Israeli policies it says harm Palestinians.

Among the countless brands owned by Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s is uniquely vulnerable to such pressure because of a special provision that grants it independence from the larger company. The sale to Unilever in 2000 tasked a special board of directors with preserving the ice cream brand’s “social mission” and gave it the power to override certain corporate decisions to do so.

As protests and violence engulfed Israel in May, scores of users flooded the social media pages of the ice cream brand with criticism and calls to boycott the country. Ben & Jerry’s could not promote its flavors without being bombarded by political messages.

On May 18, the social media accounts of Ben & Jerry’s went silent and stayed that way for two months until Monday, when the announcement on Israel was made.

In a statement issued July 20 with the Washington, D.C.-based pro-Israel think tank and policy center Endowment for Middle East Truth, the Baltimore Zionist District wrote, “We, at EMET and the BZD were shocked to learn that Ben and Jerry’s ice cream has decided to boycott stores in what they term ‘Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem.’ This is yet another shallow attempt at ‘virtue signaling’ and comes out of sheer ignorance regarding the long and ‘rocky road’ of the history of the conflict. Like the product it sells which is replete with empty calories, and devoid of nutritional value, this is high on patting oneself on the back and totally devoid of substance.

“We call on everyone, therefore, to boycott Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, and to work with us on re-introducing and finally passing the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, a bill that was first introduced by Senator Ben Cardin (D, Maryland) and Rob Portman (R, Ohio), but died in the 115th Congress.

Caren Leven
Baltimore Zionist District Executive Director Caren Leven: “It’s shameful that a company founded by two Jewish friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield has now ended up in the worst possible scenario.” (Provided photo)

“It is unfortunate that those behind the decision are clearly oblivious to the fact that the Palestinians could have had an independent Palestinian state a long time ago, living side by side in peace and security with Israel, had they ever simply accepted the myriad offers given to the Palestinians. This is a sign of the times about just how profoundly ignorant the ‘woke generation’ and those who spend their lives trying to be ‘cool’ are of some basic historical facts.”

In the statement, BZD Executive Director Caren Leven said, “It’s shameful that a company founded by two Jewish friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield has now ended up in the worst possible scenario. Turning their backs not only on their own people but in return their homeland. As Jewish people we make it a point to support each other in business everyday, to help one another grow, flourish and be successful. To wake up and see that a company has now boycotted a piece of our land our history to satisfy a woke agenda, is nothing less than an embarrassment.”

In its weekly e-letter, the BZD encouraged followers to sign a national petition calling for a boycott of Ben & Jerry’s and to send an email to Unilever protesting the decision. “Here is your chance to make a CHANGE following Ben and Jerry’s recent upsetting decision to end their contract with Israeli distributors come to the end of next year,” the email stated. “Their choice to boycott Israel will not bring peace to the Middle East; it will just deprive Jews and Arabs alike of ice cream and, more importantly, jobs.”

Other American Jewish groups offered varied responses. Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the left-leaning Israel advocacy group J Street, said that Ben & Jerry’s was drawing “​​a principled and rational distinction between commercial transactions in the State of Israel & those in the territory it occupies,” and said the term “antisemitism” didn’t apply to the company’s actions.

Daniel Sokatch, CEO of the left-wing New Israel Fund, said that Ben & Jerry’s was not being anti-Semitic in exiting “occupied Palestinian territory” because “these lands are not sovereign Israel.”

“Attacking people who try and distinguish between sovereign and non-sovereign Israel by calling them antisemitic is to evade a matter of fact, abuse the meaning of ‘antisemitism’ and ultimately gaslight those who would try and work towards a future of equality and justice for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” Sokatch said in a statement.

The Anti-Defamation League said it was “disappointed” by the move, adding, “You can disagree with policies without feeding into dangerous campaigns that seek to undermine Israel” but refraining from calling for specific actions.

And the Zionist Organization of America called for a boycott of the ice cream, proclaiming that Ben & Jerry’s is “bad for your moral and physical health.” The call was echoed by others such as the Jewish conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who said he would stop eating the brand

Jmore staff contributed to this report.

You May Also Like
Sauce Gribiche Can Be a Delicious Passover Culinary Staple
Sauce Gribiche

Sauce gribiche, a cold egg sauce, brings a silky yet chunky texture to whatever it touches, even on matzah.

Sandra R. Berman Center for Humanity, Tolerance & Holocaust Education Dedicated at Towson University
The Sandra R. Berman Center for Humanity, Tolerance and Holocaust Education

The center's mission is to promote education on humanity, tolerance and the Shoah to highlight the dangers of bigotry and intolerance.

The Food Enthusiast with Guest Lois Gamerman
The Food Enthusiast with Guest Lois Gamerman

On this episode of "The Food Enthusiast," Dara Bunjon talks with Lois Gamerman, president and CEO of Soft Stuff Specialty Food Distributors.

Orioles Sale to David Rubenstein Group Approved by Major League Baseball
David Rubenstein

The product of a blue-collar Jewish family, the Baltimore-born Rubenstein, 74, is a multi-billionaire lawyer, businessman and philanthropist.