In what appears to be a decision aimed at singling out Israeli settlements, the US-based ice cream company Ben & Jerry's announced on Monday that it would no longer be sold beyond the Green Line after 2022. The move drew immediate condemnations from Israelis and a call to boycott the company's products.
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On its website, it said, "We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry's ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)," referring to the official UN terminology for Judea and Samaria. "We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners," it said.
According to the company, whose headquarters are in the liberal state of Vermont, "We have a longstanding partnership with our licensee, who manufactures Ben & Jerry's ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region. We have been working to change this, and so we have informed our licensee that we will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year."
The company added that it would continue to operate in Israel "through a different arrangement."
Although it was unclear if this was part of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign waged against Israel among some leftwing circles in the US, it appears to fall in line with the goals pushed by progressive radicals on the Left in the US and beyond, which have accused the company of being part of Israel's alleged discriminatory practices against Palestinians.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel, although it was not immediately clear if he was in favor of this move.
The company has recently come under attack by BDS activists over its willingness to operate in Israel through a licensee that sells its product in Judea and Samaria. During the recent Gaza war, the attacks intensified and the latest move appears to be the company's response to this criticism.
The Yesha Council, an umbrella organization representing Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, issued a harsh condemnation, stating that "unfortunately, the ice cream company has decided to boycott Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley and as a consequence fire hundreds of Israelis who work for it in the south [where it manufactures its products]." The organization further said that "there is no need to buy products that boycott hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens just because of where they chose to live, and we hope this company retracts its discriminatory decision."
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted : "Now we Israelis know which ice cream NOT to buy Flag of Israel."
Now we Israelis know which ice cream NOT to buy 🇮🇱💪 https://t.co/j7VNpIWX0f
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) July 19, 2021
Likud MK Miki Zohar said: "Ben and Jerry's won't be missed in Israel, it will miss Israel." Ariel Mayor Eli Shaviro said that the decision was a "populist and unenlightened move that ignores the fact that Israelis and Palestinians coexist. We are against boycotts."
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