Ben & Jerry’s Israel asks PM Bennett: Why are you not acting against Unilever?
Avi Zinger, CEO and owner of Ben & Jerry’s Israel, has sent a letter to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett calling on him to take action against Unilever Global – Ben & Jerry’s parent company, following its boycott of the Jewish state.
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop. Credit: Joshua Small-Photographer/Shutterstock
Unilever stated in July that it was ending sales in Israel as “we believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Zinger, the Israeli license owner, refused Ben and Jerry’s demand to withdraw his sales from Judea and Samaria. Unilever announced it would not renew his license.
In his letter, Zinger stated that Unilever, which operates without interruption in Israel and receives unprecedented regulatory benefits, and the IDF continues to purchase products worth millions of shekels a year from the company.
After Unilever announced its boycott, Bennett himself called Unilever’s CEO and clarified to him that the boycott will have legal and other consequences, and Israel will “act vigorously against any act of boycott directed against its citizens.”
In his letter to Bennett, Zinger wrote on his behalf and on behalf of 169 employees at the factory in Beer Tuvia, that Israel is not doing what it itself demands of the world: the implementation of the boycott law passed by the Knesset in 2011, a law that calls for the immediate sanctions against a company that boycotts the Jewish state.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Jewish communities have been waging a struggle against Unilever Global, and have managed to trigger the anti-boycott laws against Unilever which led to the withdrawal of investments, holdings and pension funds, including from the state of New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, and Arizona.
However, “here in Israel, despite explicit threats at the beginning, nothing was done with a huge company that decided to take boycott measures against the State of Israel. Worse, Unilever, which violates the Israeli boycott law, continues to supply the State of Israel, the IDF, and government bodies, with goods that cost millions of shekels a year, and even receive far-reaching regulatory benefits,” Zinger wrote in his letter.
“Why did the Israeli government surrender to BDS without a fight? Is the state sending the right message to the world? How is it possible that here in Israel the CEO of Unilever was not even summoned to a hearing and business with the company continues as usual?” he demanded.
“The State of Israel, in its long silence, without taking action, is the one that allows the future boycott by other companies and gives victory to BDS,” Zinger charged
“The [Bennett’s] helplessness in the face of a company that is taking boycott measures is undermining Israel’s deterrent power and will lead not only to fatal damage to Ben & Jerrys Israel, but to many other businesses in the future. Do not look away and allow a glorious enterprise to end its path – activate the boycott law,” he demanded.
Unilever was on the Simon Wiesenthal Center Global Antisemitism Top Ten list for 2021. From the outset, the SWC labelled the boycott “a purely political act.”
It was pushed forward by its activist board Chairwoman, Anuradha Mittal, who has a track record of endorsing the BDS movement and defending Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist groups.
