Toby Talbot, Associated Press
Ice cream moves along the production line March 23, 2010 at Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream in Waterbury, Vt. Ben & Jerry’s announced on Monday that it would stop selling its ice cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
MONTPELIER, Vt. – Ben & Jerry’s said Monday it would stop selling its ice cream in the Israel-occupied West Bank, denying East Jerusalem. Selling in the areas targeted by the Palestinians is “incompatible with our values”.
The announcement was one of the sharpest and most high-profile reprimands by a well-known company against Israel’s policy of resettling its citizens in war-won land. The settlements are widely viewed by the international community as illegal and an obstacle to peace.
The Vermont-based ice cream company’s move was quickly criticized by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former leader of the West Bank settlement movement, for calling it an “immoral decision” and I believe it will turn out to be a business failure. also.”
The company informed its longtime licensee, who is responsible for manufacturing and distributing the ice cream in Israel, that it will not renew the license agreement after the end of next year, according to a statement posted on the Vermont-based company’s website.
The Ben & Jerry statement cited “the concerns that our fans and trusted partners share”.
The company did not specifically identify these concerns, but last month a group called the Vermonters for Justice in Palestine urged Ben & Jerry’s to “end complicity in the Israeli occupation and violations of Palestinian human rights.”
“How much longer will Ben & Jerry’s allow its Israel-made ice cream to be sold in Jewish settlements while Palestinian land is confiscated, Palestinian homes destroyed, and Palestinian families in neighborhoods like Sheik Jarrah face displacement to make way? For Jewish settlers? ” Ian Stokes told the organization in a June 10 press release.
In a statement Monday, the organization said Ben & Jerry’s actions did not go far enough.
“By maintaining a presence in Israel, Ben & Jerry’s continues to be involved in the killing, imprisonment and dispossession of the Palestinian people and the display of international law,” said Kathy Shapiro of the Vermont Group.
The Israeli State Department called Ben & Jerry’s decision “a surrender to continued and aggressive pressure from extreme anti-Israeli groups” and the company is cooperating with “economic terrorism”.
“The decision is immoral and discriminatory as it highlights Israel, harms both Israelis and Palestinians, and encourages extremist groups to use bullying tactics,” the ministry said in a statement. It also urged Ben & Jerry’s to withdraw its decision.
While Ben & Jerry’s products will not be sold in the settlements, the company said it will remain in Israel through a different arrangement. But that’s going to be difficult. All major Israeli supermarket chains operate in the settlements, the main distribution channel for the ice cream manufacturers.
Founded in Vermont in 1978 but currently owned by the consumer goods company Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s has not shied away from social concerns. While many companies take the light of the action in politics for fear of alienating customers, the ice cream maker takes the opposite path and often advocates progressive goals.
Ben & Jerry’s has opposed the regressive policies of the Trump administration by renaming one of its flavors, Pecan Resist, ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
The company said Pecan Resist celebrated activists who stood up against oppression, harmful environmental practices and injustice. As part of the campaign, Ben & Jerry’s said they would donate $ 25,000 each to four activist organizations.
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