Israel's Ambassador to the US and the UN Gilad Erdan on Monday blasted the "ignorance and hypocrisy" he said Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield displayed in an interview with Axios. In the Sunday interview, the Ben & Jerry's founders rejected criticism of their company's decision to stop selling its products in Judea and Samaria.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
"Part of the definition of antisemitism is exactly that - demanding from Israel what is not demanded from any other entity in the world, and the gentlemen Ben and Jerry have no problem with their ice cream being sold to supporters of terrorism, but Israel they boycott," Erdan said. "So I will continue to act so that as many countries as possible include Ben & Jerry's and [its parent-company] Unilever on their blacklist until this despicable boycott comes to an end."
In the Axios on HBO interview, Greenfield says he "wasn't surprised" by the accusations of antisemitism that followed the company's announcement, but "it's still painful. I understand people being upset. It's a very emotional issue for a lot of people, and it's a very painful issue for a lot of people."
Cohen, on the other hand, said, "[It was] totally fine because it's absurd. What, I'm anti-Jewish? I'm a Jew. My family is Jewish. My friends are Jewish."
"I think [the outrage] is largely based on misinformation. I think Ben and Jerry's and [parent company] Unilever are largely being characterized as boycotting Israel, which is not the case at all," Greenfield said.
"I don't view it as withholding money. We just don't want our ice cream sold in the occupied territories," Cohen said.
"We hugely support Israel's right to exist, but we are against a particular policy," he said.
In a statement following the publication of the interview, Ben & Jerry's Israel CEO Avi Zinger said Unilever and Ben & Jerry's "continue to claim they are not acting against Israel at the same time as they are acting in full force against the State of Israel and its citizens and doing a great service to the BDS [boycott, divestment, and sanctions] movement and our detractors around the world.
"Ben & Jerry's Israel will continue to act against the illegal decision that discriminates and harms many of the state's citizens, and we call on the Israeli government to also act, similarly to many countries around the world that have already joined the fight against Unilever's policy and announced the imposition of tough economic sanctions on it."
In July, the Vermont-based ice cream maker announced it would stop selling its products in Judea and Samaria by 2022. In response, New Jersey and Arizona announced they would divest from Unilever over its violation of state anti-BDS laws.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
