Connect with us

U.S. News

Israel’s incumbent and former PM condemn Ben & Jerry’s over boycott [Video]

Published

on

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:


  • Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company received backlash from incumbent Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Naftali Bennett and former PM Benjamin Netanyahu after announcing that it would stop selling its products in ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory.’
  • Bennett said that the company has opted to brand itself as an “anti-Israel ice cream.”
  • Anti-Israel movement Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions praised the company’s move.

Following an announcement that it would suspend its sales of frozen desserts in ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory’ in Israel, ice cream and social justice-driven company Ben & Jerry received condemnation from Israeli incumbent Prime Minister (PM) Naftali Bennett and former PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

The ice cream company, which is based in Vermont, USA, said on Monday that it would no longer sell its products in the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory,’ the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

“We have a long-standing partnership with our licensee, who manufactures Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region,” the company wrote in a press release. “We have been working to change this, and so we have informed our licensee that we will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year.”

“Although Ben & Jerry’s will no longer be sold in the OPT, we will stay in Israel through a different arrangement. We will share an update on this as soon as we’re ready,” the statement said.

Ben & Jerry’s latest act was heavily criticized by both Bennett and Netanyahu. The present PM said that the food firm had “decided to brand itself as anti-Israel ice cream.”

“The boycott against Israel… reflects that they have totally lost their way. The boycott doesn’t work and won’t work and we will fight it with all our might,” Bennett added.

On the other hand, Netanhayu wrote on Twitter: “Now we Israelis know which ice cream NOT to buy.”

Meanwhile, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), an anti-Israel movement, lauded the company’s announcement.

“Following years of #BDS campaigns [Ben & Jerry’s] has announced it will end sales of its ice cream in Israel’s illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land. We warmly welcome their decision but call on Ben & Jerry’s to end all operations in apartheid Israel,” the movement tweeted, adding that they “hope that Ben and Jerry’s has understood that, in harmony with its social justice commitments, there can be no business as usual with apartheid Israel.”

A representative from the company has declined to comment on Netanyahu’s remark or if they backed the BDS movement.

Source: Fox Business

Advertisement
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *