Senator Eric Abetz, Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Israel, and Senator Kimberley Kitching, Deputy Chair have criticised Ben and Jerry’s decision not to renew their license agreement with the Israeli franchisee who sells their ice cream in the “Occupied Palestinian Territories” in the West Bank.
Ben & Jerry's decision to stop selling ice cream in Jewish communities in the West Bank has caused ripples - and may be a breach of US laws that prohibit discriminatory boycotts.
In their op-ed, they also accused Israel of an “illegal occupation” that “violates the basic human rights of the Palestinian people who live under the occupation.”
David Singer: Unilever and J Street have seemingly swallowed the UN’s pernicious rewriting of history to justify discrimination against Jews because of where they live.
Sean Savage: “By virtue of its wayward subsidiary, Unilever—a massive international conglomerate—risks potentially crushing financial consequences in terms of its ability to receive investments from, or do business with, the majority of U.S. states,” said Brooke Goldstein of the Lawfare Project.
Melanie Phillips: The point about the attack by Ben & Jerry’s, as with all boycotts of Israel, is that the main issue is not the boycott. It’s the thinking behind it.
The interior minister urges consumers not to boycott the Israel franchisee and says the government is working to overturn the parent company’s “antisemitic” decision to halt sales in certain areas.
Although Ben and Jerry's ice cream carries a hechsher certifying that is Kosher, main Kashrut bodies in Australia have decided to remove the product from their marketing catalogues.
Jonathan S. Tobin: The ice-cream company bowed to pressure to boycott Jerusalem and the West Bank. Still, their latest attempt at political virtue-signaling won’t advance peace, help Palestinians or silence critics.
Boycotts of the Ben & Jerry’s brand are quickly sprouting at several locations around the globe after the company announced it would stop selling ice cream in Israel in an attempt to boycott Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem.
