Ben & Jerry's Israel franchisee Avi Zinger has asked Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to enact the Anti-Boycott Law against the parent company Unilever. Zinger's request marked six months since Unilever's demand that Ben & Jerry's Israel cease all sales of its products in parts of Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria.
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In a letter to the prime minister, cosigned by 169 employees of Ben & Jerry's factory in Be'er Tuvia in southern Israel, Zinger wrote that Israel was not doing what it asks the world to do by failing to enact the Anti-Boycott Law, which was passed by the Knesset in 2011 and gives the government immediate tools with which to sanction companies that boycott the Jewish state.
"Over the past half-year, Jewish communities abroad, together with the Foreign Ministry and on behalf of the State of Israel petitioned 33 states in the US to pass legislation against those who boycott parts of the State of Israel, and have pressured these states to apply the law and impose significant economic sanctions [on Unilever]. Many states, such as New York, New Jersey, Texas, Illinois, and Florida, have indeed responded to the request and pulled holdings and investments worth upwards of a billion dollars – which caused a public media storm and severely impacted [Unilever's] stocks," wrote Zinger.
"In contrast, to my great sorrow, here in Israel, despite the explicit threats early on, nothing has been done against [Unilever], which essentially chose to boycott the State of Israel. Even more egregiously, Unilever, which is in violation of the Israeli Anti-Boycott Law, continues to supply the State of Israel, the IDF, and other government bodies with goods at a cost of millions of shekels per year and even receives far-reaching regulatory benefits.
"Why is the Israeli government conceding to the BDS movement without a fight? Is the state sending the right message to the world? How can it be that in Israel, the CEO of Unilever wasn't even invited to a hearing and business with the company continues unabated? Through its longstanding silence and lack of action, Israel is facilitating future boycotts and granting a victory to the BDS movement.
"This weakness against a company that is implementing boycott measures harms Israel's deterrence power and will not only destroy Ben & Jerry's Israel, but many other businesses in the future. Don't watch from the sidelines and allow a magnificent factory to die. Enact the Anti-Boycott Law and give the boycotting company what it deserves," Zinger implored of Bennett.
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