Israel Waging War on Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

On July 19, a company statement said the following:

"We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry's ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)." 

"We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners." 

"We have a longstanding partnership with our licensee, who manufactures Ben & Jerry's ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region." 

"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."

Ben & Jerry's is owned by Unilever.

The London-based firm said it "recognize(s) the right of the (B & J) brand and its independent board to take decisions about its social mission."

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) expressed support for B & J's action, saying it follows "growing public support for Palestinian freedom," adding:

JVP encourages B & J to halt sales of its products "throughout all areas where Palestinians need freedom."

On Monday, the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement said it "warmly welcomes" B & J's decision.

Calling on the company to "end all operations in apartheid Israel," it added:

"We hope Ben and Jerry's has understood that, in harmony with its social justice commitments, there can be no business as usual in apartheid Israel."

In response to the above, Israel's ceremonial president Herzog accused B & J of "a new kind of terrorism (sic)," adding:

"Terrorism (sic) tries to harm the citizens of Israel and the economy of Israel (sic)." 

BDS "does not seek peace (sic), and wishes to undermine the very existence of Israel (sic)." 

"We must oppose this boycott and terrorism in any form (sic)."

On Tuesday, interventionist Blinken's spokesman Price said the Biden regime "firmly reject(s) the BDS movement." 

Like its predecessors, it supports the scourge of Zionist tyranny and apartheid terrorism against long-suffering Palestinians. 

The Bennett regime declared ice cream war on B & J, saying it'll "act aggressively" against the firm.

Bennett spoke to Unilever CEO Alan Jope, saying:

He "views with utmost gravity the decision by Ben & Jerry's to boycott Israel (sic) and added that this is a subsidiary of Unilever, which has taken a clearly anti-Israel step (sic)," adding:

"(T)his is an action that has severe consequences, including legal, and it will take strong action against any boycott directed against its citizens."

Its foreign ministry falsely called the company's action "a surrender to ongoing and aggressive pressure from extreme anti-Israel groups (by  supporting) economic terrorism (sic)."

FM Lapid falsely accused B & J of "surrender(ing) to anti-Semitism (sic)," vowing that the Bennett regime "will not be silent."

The global BDS movement is the single most effective campaign against the scourge of Zionist tyranny and Israeli apartheid.

Everyone is legally entitled to freely express views on all issues, including justifiable criticism of Israel.

US legislation delegitimizing BDS activism, prohibiting it, and falsely equating it to anti-Semitism was illegally enacted by 35 US states.

Their laws breached the Constitution's First Amendment right of free expression.

They also breached NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. (1982), a landmark civil rights case.

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the organization's right to boycott white-owned businesses in Mississippi – protesting against segregation and racial injustice, its constitutional right.

The ruling stressed that states may not prohibit peaceful advocacy of a politically-motivated boycott, what First Amendment rights are all about.

Defying this right, Lapid said he'll call on all US states that enacted anti-BDS legislation "to enforce these laws against Ben & Jerry's."

The Bennett regime's extremist US envoy Gilad Erdan called for punishing Unilever "very severely."

He falsely accused the company of "adopt(ing) anti-Semitic practices (sic) and advanc(ing) the de-legitimization of the Jewish state (sic) and the de-humanization of the Jewish people (sic)."

AIPAC allied with Israel's ice cream war, falsely claiming that B & J "surrender(ed) to the...bigoted BDS Movement (sic).

Mentally unbalanced propagandist for over-the-top Israeli right wing media Caroline Glick equated B & J to "Nazi collaborators (sic)."

Right-wing US Senator James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) called for his state to (illegally) ban B & J products, tweeting:

"We should immediately block the sale of all #Benandjerrys in the state and in any state-operated facility to align with our (illegal BDS) law."

Federal, state and local governments may legally opt out of doing business with companies at their discretion.

They have no authority to ban the sale of legitimate products, only illegal ones like banned weapons or illicit drugs — clearly not ice cream.

VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

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"Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity"

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