Last year, ultra-woke US ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s announced that it has decided to stop selling its ice cream in Israel ‘s ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’ of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Vermont-based dessert company said in July that it would no longer sell its products in ‘disputed territories’ including the West Bank, which the company called ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory.’
On July 19, 2021, Ben & Jerry’ s issued the following statement:
“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.”
At first, Unilever PLC , a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in London, which owns Ben & Jerry’s , did not openly protest the boycott, citing the policy of not interfering in the actions of ‘independent’ boards.
However, now, Unilever, which employs thousands in Israel and has millions of dollars invested there, is working on creating a ‘new arrangement’ for Ben & Jerry’s sales in Israel and ‘strongly recommended’ its board to not interfere in the matter.
The CEO of Unilever advised its brands to keep away from matters where they ‘lack expertise.’
“On subjects where Unilever brands don’t have the expertise or credibility, we think it’s best that they stay out of the debate,” Unilever’s Chief Executive Alan Jope said.
“Our absolute focus right now is to figure out what the new arrangement will be for Ben & Jerry’s,” Jope stated, adding that the arrangement is expected to come around by year’s end.
In its most recent exhibitionist activism case, Ben & Jerry’s last week targeted US President Joe Biden for his stance on the mounting tensions over the threat of Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war,” Ben & Jerry’s said on Twitter, while also calling on Biden directly to “de-escalate tensions and work for peace rather than prepare for war.”
(eTN):Owner orders Ben & Jerry’s to end ‘Israel boycott’ now | re-post license | post content