Ben & Jerry’s causes political controversy in Israel
Ben & Jerry’s cheerful ice creams will soon no longer be available in Jewish settlements in Israel, the ice cream maker announced. Why? ‘We believe that selling ice cream in occupied Palestinian territory is incompatible with Ben & Jerry’s values,’ the press release stated. Ouch, sensitive subject.
Ben & Jerry’s started out as a business run by two genuine hippies, and with their ice cream they more often take political positions. Baked Alaska, for example, draws attention to climate change, while with Hooked On You they celebrate love in all its forms and combinations. The decision to stop selling ice cream in Israel seems to fit this pattern. NRC reports that lobbying by the BDS movement may have given them the idea. It is an American organization that advocates boycotting, divesting from and sanctioning investments in Israel.
Prime minister on the line
The United Nations had already called last year for an end to doing business with occupied territories in Israel. Ben & Jerry’s is now one of the first companies to take action, following Motorola and a major pension fund in Norway. B&J’s action did not go down well: apparently, Israeli Prime Minister Benett was already angrily on the phone with the director of Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s parent company, one day after the press release was sent. ‘We now know which ice cream we should NOT eat,’ the prime minister even tweeted, and he announced countermeasures.
‘It’s only ice cream’
Residents in the occupied territories are reacting rather casually. ‘This is a pro-Palestinian action, and therefore anti-Israel,’ says Renay Hersh, who is approached by a reporter from The Guardian while doing her shopping. ‘Should we care about this? It’s only ice cream.’ The Zionist movement Peace Now is not impressed either. ‘If a company says it does not want to do business in the settlements, another company will come along to take over,’ says chairwoman Hagit Ofran. ‘If it were a company that made bulldozers or something, we would notice it more.’
Freezers full
For the time being, the freezers will remain stocked; the contract between the ice cream factory in Israel and Unilever ends in December. Ben & Jerry’s plans to continue selling in the rest of Israel, but absolutely not in the occupied territories.
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Source: NRC, The Guardian
