American supporters of Israel slammed Ben & Jerry’s as anti-Semitic on Monday after the Vermont-based ice cream maker announced it would no longer sell its products in Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his own boycott of Ben & Jerry’s, telling reporters in City Hall on Tuesday that he ‘won’t be eating Cherry Garcia for a while.’
Meanwhile, other supermarkets took to social media and announced that they would not be carrying Ben & Jerry’s on their store shelves in response to the company’s decision.
Abraham Foxman, the former head of the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted: ‘How sad is Ben and Jerry’s decision to boycott Jews in Judea and Samaria - it will do nothing to bring peace closer but it will give oxygen to those who reject reconciliation.’
American supporters of Israel slammed Ben & Jerry’s as anti-Semitic on Monday after the Vermont-based ice cream maker announced it would no longer sell its products in Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank
The image above from July 16, 2021 shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat, just south of the Palestinian town of Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel has built hundreds of settlements on the West Bank, a piece of territory claimed by the Palestinians
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his own boycott of Ben & Jerry’s, telling reporters in City Hall on Tuesday that he ‘won’t be eating Cherry Garcia for a while.’
‘Judea and Samaria’ is the biblical name of the area that today encompasses the Palestinian West Bank.
Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War. Since then, Israel has built hundreds of Jewish settlements, but the international community regards them as illegal.
The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip as theirs.
Seth Mandel, a journalist sympathetic to Israel, tweeted: 'Where are Palestinians going to buy Ben & Jerry's? What kind of own goal is this?'
Avi Kaner, a co-owner of New York City-based Morton Williams Supermarkets, tweeted: 'Our supermarkets have taken action against Ben & Jerry’s, which is boycotting Jewish communities that are at the center of a territorial dispute in Israel, including the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem – inhabited by Jews for over 3,000 years.'
House Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican who represents Suffolk County on Long Island, tweeted: 'Ben and Jerry's targeting hundreds of thousands of Jewish customers abroad with this discriminatory boycott is a disgrace.'
Ted Frank tweeted: 'A reminder that Ben & Jerry's still sells ice cream in China and hasn't said anything about Hong Kong or the Uyghurs.'
Lavern Spicer, a Republican who is running for Congress in South Florida, tweeted: 'I'm an ice cream fan, but I will NEVER buy Ben & Jerry's ice cream again. They might as well change their name to Hamas & Adolf’s.’
Abraham Foxman, the former head of the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted: ‘How sad is Ben and Jerry’s decision to boycott Jews in Judea and Samaria - it will do nothing to bring peace closer but it will give oxygen to those who reject reconciliation.’
House Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican who represents Suffolk County on Long Island, tweeted: 'Ben and Jerry's targeting hundreds of thousands of Jewish customers abroad with this discriminatory boycott is a disgrace.'
Avi Kaner, a co-owner of New York City-based Morton Williams Supermarkets, tweeted: 'Our supermarkets have taken action against Ben & Jerry’s, which is boycotting Jewish communities that are at the center of a territorial dispute in Israel, including the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem – inhabited by Jews for over 3,000 years.'
Brigitte Gabriel, a conservative Twitter user with more than 314,000 followers, tweeted: 'Ben & Jerry's is anti-Semitic hate filled ice cream.'
Ted Frank tweeted: 'A reminder that Ben & Jerry's still sells ice cream in China and hasn't said anything about Hong Kong or the Uyghurs.'
Seth Mandel, a journalist sympathetic to Israel, tweeted: 'Where are Palestinians going to buy Ben & Jerry's? What kind of own goal is this?'
Another Twitter user commented: 'I really don't care if Ben and Jerry's wants to leave the settlements. McDonald's doesn't operate in the settlements either. So what? What does bother me is that both operate in much worse places without any outrage whatsoever.'
The satirical website The Babylon Bee joked that Ben & Jerry's would be introducing a new flavor called 'Push The Jews Into The Sea Salt And Caramel'
Another Twitter user commented: 'I really don't care if Ben and Jerry's wants to leave the settlements. McDonald's doesn't operate in the settlements either.
'So what? What does bother me is that both operate in much worse places without any outrage whatsoever.'
Brigitte Gabriel, a conservative Twitter user with more than 314,000 followers, tweeted: 'Ben & Jerry's is anti-Semitic hate filled ice cream.'
She added: 'Boycott them. Shame them. Mock them.'
Lavern Spicer, a Republican who is running for Congress in South Florida, tweeted: 'I'm an ice cream fan, but I will NEVER buy Ben & Jerry's ice cream again.
‘They might as well change their name to Hamas & Adolf’s.’
The satirical website The Babylon Bee joked that Ben & Jerry's would be introducing a new flavor called 'Push The Jews Into The Sea Salt And Caramel.'
Others on Twitter posted social media screenshots from supermarkets announcing that they would no longer be carrying Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Even de Blasio, New York City’s outgoing progressive mayor, slammed the move.
‘I can say I will not be eating anymore Cherry Garcia for a while,’ the mayor said on Tuesday.
‘That's sad to me.’
De Blasio said it was unfortunate that the company’s founders - Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield - made the decision they did.
Meanwhile, several kosher supermarkets announced they would no longer sell Ben & Jerry's
‘I don't know them well, but I've met them over the years and I think they're good people with good values.
‘But this is a mistake. They shouldn't do this.’
De Blasio falsely accused Ben & Jerry's of signing on to BDS - or the 'Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions' movement - against Israel.
The BDS movement seeks to apply economic pressure on Israel by forcing companies and government to sever ties with the entire country.
The move by Ben & Jerry's simply limits the sale of their products to supermarkets in Israel that are within the country's internationally recognized borders.
Ben & Jerry's said the sales of its ice cream in the territories sought by the Palestinians are 'inconsistent with our values.'
The announcement on Monday by the Vermont-based ice cream company was slammed by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former leader of the West Bank settlement movement who called it 'an immoral decision and I believe that it will turn out to be a business mistake, too.'
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also slammed the decision, tweeting that: 'Now we Israelis know which ice cream NOT to buy'.
The company informed its longstanding licensee - responsible for manufacturing and distributing the ice cream in Israel - that it will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year, according to a statement posted on the Vermont-based company's website.
The Ben & Jerry's statement cited 'the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners.'
The company did not explicitly identify those concerns, but last month, a group called Vermonters for Justice in Palestine called on Ben & Jerry's to 'end complicity in Israel's occupation and abuses of Palestinian human rights.'
Ben & Jerry's said it will stop selling its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, saying the sales in the territories sought by the Palestinians are 'inconsistent with our values'
The Ben & Jerry's statement cited 'the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners'. The Israeli foreign ministry called Ben & Jerry's decision 'a surrender to ongoing and aggressive pressure from extreme anti-Israel groups' and the company was cooperating with 'economic terrorism'
'How much longer will Ben & Jerry's permit its Israeli-manufactured ice cream to be sold in Jewish-only settlements while Palestinian land is being confiscated, Palestinian homes are being destroyed, and Palestinian families in neighborhoods like Sheik Jarrah are facing eviction to make way for Jewish settlers?' the organization's Ian Stokes said in a June 10 news release.
In a Monday statement, the organization said Ben & Jerry's actions did not go far enough.
'By maintaining a presence in Israel, Ben & Jerrys continues to be complicit in the killing, imprisonment and dispossession of Palestinian people and the flaunting of international law,' said the Vermont group's Kathy Shapiro.
The Israeli foreign ministry called Ben & Jerry's decision 'a surrender to ongoing and aggressive pressure from extreme anti-Israel groups' and the company was cooperating with 'economic terrorism.'
'The decision is immoral and discriminatory, as it singles out Israel, harms both Israelis and Palestinians and encourages extremist groups who use bullying tactics,' the ministry said in a statement. It also called on Ben & Jerry's to withdraw its decision.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid upbraided Ben & Jerry's, calling its decision a 'shameful surrender' to anti-Semitism.
While Ben & Jerry's products will not be sold in the settlements, the company said it will stay in Israel through a different arrangement. But doing so will be difficult. Major Israeli supermarket chains, the primary distribution channel for the ice cream maker, all operate in the settlements.
Founded in Vermont in 1978, but currently owned by consumer goods conglomerate Unilever, Ben & Jerry's has not shied away from social causes. While many businesses tread lightly in politics for fear of alienating customers, the ice cream maker has taken the opposite approach, often espousing progressive causes.
The announcement on Monday by the Vermont-based ice cream company was slammed by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former leader of the West Bank settlement movement who called it 'an immoral decision and I believe that it will turn out to be a business mistake, too. Former Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu also slammed the decision
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also slammed the decision, tweeting that: 'Now we Israelis know which ice cream NOT to buy'
Ben & Jerry's took a stand against what it called the Trump administration´s regressive policies by rebranding one of its flavors Pecan Resist in 2018, ahead of midterm elections.
The company said Pecan Resist celebrated activists who were resisting oppression, harmful environmental practices and injustice. As part of the campaign, Ben & Jerry's said it was giving $25,000 each to four activist entities.
Aida Touma-Sliman, an Israeli lawmaker with the Joint List of Arab parties, wrote on Twitter that Ben and Jerry's decision Monday was 'appropriate and moral.' She added that the 'occupied territories are not part of Israel' and that the move is an important step to help pressure the Israeli government to end the occupation.
The West Bank and east Jerusalem were captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Some 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in the two territories - roughly 500,000 in the occupied West Bank and 200,000 in East Jerusalem.
Israel treats the two areas separately, considering east Jerusalem as part of its capital.
Meanwhile, Israel considers the West Bank as disputed territory whose fate should be resolved in negotiations.
However the international community considers both areas to be occupied territory.
The Palestinians seek the West Bank as part of a future independent state, with east Jerusalem as their capital.
Israel in recent years has become a partisan issue in Washington, with many Democrats - particularly of the party's progressive wing - growing increasingly critical over a number of Israeli policies, including settlement construction, and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu´s close ties with former President Trump. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been an outspoken critic of Israel.
The BDS movement - shorthand for a grassroots, Palestinian-led movement that advocates boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israeli institutions and businesses - applauded Ben & Jerry's decision as 'a decisive step towards ending the company's complicity in Israel's occupation and violations of Palestinian rights,' but called upon the company to do more.
'We hope that Ben & Jerry's has understood that, in harmony with its social justice commitments, there can be no business as usual with apartheid Israel,' a statement read.
Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli troops in the West Bank. The West Bank and east Jerusalem were captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Some 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in the two territories - roughly 500,000 in the occupied West Bank and 200,000 in east Jerusalem
Founded in Vermont in 1978, but currently owned by consumer goods conglomerate Unilever, Ben & Jerry's has not shied away from social causes. Founder Ben Cohen, left, and Jerry Greenfield, right, join Jane Fonda at a climate change protest in Washington DC in 2019
The Israeli government says the BDS movement masks a deeper aim of delegitimizing or even destroying the entire country.
The Yesha Council, an umbrella group representing the roughly 500,000 Israelis living in West Bank settlements, said 'there's no need to buy products from companies that boycott hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens because of the place they choose to live.'
It said Ben & Jerry's decision 'brought a bad spirit to such a sweet industry' and called on Israelis to buy locally produced ice cream this summer.
Ben & Jerry's move on Monday may not be the final chapter in the saga.
Airbnb announced in 2018 that it would stop advertising properties in Israeli settlements.
Several months later, after coming under harsh criticism from Israel and a federal lawsuit by Israeli Americans who owned property in the settlements, the company reversed its decision.
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