Israeli PM vows to ‘move hard’ over Ben & Jerry’s ban

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Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Unilever chief on Tuesday that Israel would “act aggressively” against Ben & Jerry’s over its subsidiary’s decision to stop selling ice cream in the occupied West Bank and its dispute over East Jerusalem.

The Vermont-based ice cream company was acquired by British consumer goods group Unilever in 2000. Ben & Jerry’s said in a statement on Monday that it had informed its longtime licensee – responsible for manufacturing and distributing ice cream in Israel – that it would not renew the licensing agreement when it expires at the end of the day. 2022.

Bennett’s office said in a statement that he had spoken with Unilever CEO Alan Job about what he called “Ben & Jerry’s clearly anti-Israel move,” adding that the move would have “serious consequences, legal and otherwise, and that she would act forcefully against all directed boycotts.” against its citizens.

The announcement was one of the companies’ most prominent criticisms of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands captured by Israel in the 1967 war. Most of the international community considers these settlements illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.

Approximately 700,000 Israelis now live in settlements, about 500,000 in the occupied West Bank and 200,000 in East Jerusalem. Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians seek it as the capital of their future state.

Ben & Jerry’s said its announcement that ice cream would be sold in territories where Palestinians seek an independent state “contradicts our values”.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry criticized the decision on Monday, calling it “a capitulation to persistent and aggressive pressure from anti-Israel extremist groups” and said the company was collaborating with “economic terrorism”.

Avi Zenger, CEO of Israel-licensed Ben & Jerry, told public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday that the parent company had long pressured him to stop distribution in the occupied Israeli territories, but he refused because it violated Israeli law.

He called Ben & Jerry’s decision not to extend its license as the “biggest achievement” of the BDS movement, which calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israeli corporations and companies in what it says is a non-violent campaign against Israeli abuses against Palestinians.

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