New Jersey has joined the growing list of US states looking into whether ice-cream maker Ben & Jerry's and its parent company, Unilever, are in violation of state law against boycotts of Israel.
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"The Division of Investment is aware of the situation and is working to determine whether any actions must be taken to ensure continued compliance with the state's anti-BDS law," Jennifer Sciortino, director of communications for the state Treasury, said in an email on Friday, according to USA Today.
Press Secretary Alyana Alfaro Post said in a separate statement on Thursday that New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy "was disappointed in the decision by Ben and Jerry's," and that "the governor believes we must continue working toward the shared goal of peace and mutual respect."
The law, passed by New Jersey and 34 other states, prohibits state agencies from investing in pension and annuity funds of companies or individuals that support any boycott of Israel and its settlements in the West Bank. New Jersey's state legislature passed the law in 2016 with near-unanimous support.
Unilever's North American headquarters are located in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and employ 1,600 people.
Meanwhile, John A. Catsimatidis, owner and CEO of the Gristedes grocery store chain, announced on Sunday that he authorized his stores, which mostly operate in New York, "to cut Ben & Jerry's space by 30% & not advertise until further notice."
"It's a tragedy that Ben & Jerry's has politicized ice cream," he added.
Catsimatidis also voiced his support for Häagen-Dazs, which he wrote is a "better" brand "created by a South Bronx family who is pro-Israel."
In what appeared to be a decision aimed at singling out Israeli settlements, the US-based ice cream company Ben & Jerry's announced earlier this month its products would not be sold beyond the Green Line after 2022. The move drew immediate condemnations from Israelis and a call to boycott the company's products.
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, "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.
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org
