Anuradha Mittal, chair of Ben & Jerry's board of directors and vice president of the Vermont-based ice cream maker's nonprofit foundation was voted "Antisemite of the Year" in the third annual contest run by watchdog StopAntisemitism.
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British singer Dua Lipa placed second and US lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene finished in third place with more than 10,000 people voting in the online competition.
The organization cited Mittal being the driving force behind the decision by Ben & Jerry's this past summer to end sales of its products in what they refer to as "Occupied Palestinian Territory."
Meet our 2021 Antisemite of the Year - Ben & Jerry's Anuradha Mittal
Mittal spearheaded the antisemitic boycott against various parts of Israel that led to:
- 5 states divesting their pension assets from parent company Unilever
- an SEC investigation
- a drop in Unilever stock pic.twitter.com/INLkVpV9aG— StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) December 28, 2021
They cite as another reason for Mittal's win her support for the BDS movement and pushing for Ben & Jerry's to boycott the entire state of Israel, which was rejected by parent company Unilever.
"There must be consequences for those who spew hatred and bigotry against the Jewish people and nation," said StopAntisemitism founder and Executive Director Liora Rez. "Being a finalist in this annual competition is one of those consequences."
Last year's winner was SUNY law student Nerdeen Kiswan. In 2019, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was crowned the competition's first-ever winner.
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Multiple US states have divested their pension funds from Unilever since the boycott decision was announced.
"For us and for the voters, Mittal was clearly the 2021 Antisemite of the Year," said Rez. "The Ben & Jerry's boycott is shamelessly biased, and Mittal's commitment to promoting her antisemitic and anti-Israel agenda is deplorable."
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
