Israeli lawmakers urge Ben & Jerry’s to drop settlement ban
Lawmakers told Ben & Jerry's they were 'standing together against the shameful actions' of the company
Varney: Ben & Jerry’s Israel boycott is ‘cheap shot’
FOX Business’ Stuart Varney reacts to the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company’s boycott of Israel.
Three-quarters of the members of the Israeli parliament on Wednesday called on Ben & Jerry’s to reverse its decision to stop selling ice cream in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem.
In a letter to the Vermont-based ice cream maker, the lawmakers said they were "standing together against the shameful actions" of the company.
They called the decision "immoral and regrettable," claimed it would hurt hundreds of Jewish and Arab workers and violated an Israeli law banning boycotts of the settlements.
The letter was signed by 90 of the Knesset’s 120 members spanning almost the entire political spectrum. Arab parties and some dovish lawmakers refused to sign.
Ben & Jerry’s, known for its progressive politics, announced last week that it would no longer produce ice cream for Israeli settlements on occupied lands. (iStock)
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Ben & Jerry’s, known for its progressive politics, announced last week that it would no longer produce ice cream for Israeli settlements on occupied lands. It is is one of the strongest steps by a well-known company against Israel’s settlements, which are widely seen by the international community as illegal.
Some 700,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem and the West Bank — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians, with wide international backing, claim both areas as parts of a future independent state.
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Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, has said that there was little it could do to block the decision. Under a 2000 purchase agreement, Ben & Jerry’s retained great autonomy over its social-justice policies. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File / AP Newsroom)
Israel has annexed east Jerusalem and says it is part of its capital, but the annexation is not internationally recognized. It says the West Bank is disputed territory whose fate should be resolved in peace talks. The international community overwhelmingly considers both areas occupied territory.
Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, has said that there was little it could do to block the decision. Under a 2000 purchase agreement, Ben & Jerry’s retained great autonomy over its social-justice policies.
Unilever says it remains "fully committed" to its businesses in Israel and will find a way to continue to produce Ben & Jerry’s inside the country while excluding settlements.
The company has not said how it plans to do this, and despite wide international opposition to the settlements, Israel does not differentiate between the settlements and the rest of its territory.
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The Israeli government has condemned Ben & Jerry’s decision, accusing the company of joining a Palestinian-led boycott campaign against Israel.
Omar Barghouti, a BDS co-founder, has said the movement had been urging Ben & Jerry’s to pull out of Israel for years.
The government has urged 35 U.S. states with anti-boycott laws to punish Unilever. Several states, including Texas and Florida, have begun to look into the matter but none have taken action yet.