Pro-Israel lawyers in Great Britain have warned Ben & Jerry's parent company Unilever against falsely claiming it cannot overrule the ice-cream maker's boycott of Judea and Samaria.
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In a letter to the multinational consumer goods company, UK Lawyers for Israel, which has the support of dozens of lords and barons in Great Britain, noted Ben & Jerry's Judea and Samaria boycott was in breach of Unilever's Code of Business Conduct.
Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UKLFI Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Turner said that "instead of trying to disclaim responsibility for the decision of its subsidiary, Unilever should take back control by requiring full compliance with its Code of Business Conduct."
If it failed to take control of the situation, investors "could lose confidence in the group," UKLFI said.
The group noted Ben & Jerry's move to halt sales to Judea and Samaria "has exposed Unilever to sanctions and legal action under multiple laws, some of which are detailed in UKLFI's letter. Since the BDS decision, Unilever's share price has fallen by 11% resulting in a loss of market capitalization in excess of £12 billion (around $16.6 billion).
According to the lawyers, the code of conduct requires Unilever companies to act in compliance with laws and regulations in countries where Unilever operates. It noted Israeli laws prohibiting discrimination against communities in Judea and Samaria as well as anti-BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) legislation signed into law in various US states.
The US-based ice cream company announced in July that its products 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.
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."
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