Ben & Jerry’s Parent Company Says They Are “Fully Committed to Our Business in Israel”

The CEO of Unilever, the parent company to Ben & Jerry’s, said on July 22 that they are “fully committed to our business in Israel.”

Alan Jope, the CEO, reportedly told investors on call, “Unilever remains fully committed to our business in Israel” and that Ben & Jerry’s July 19 announcement that they will no longer manufacture and sell products in the “Occupied Palestinian Territory” was a decision made by them and their board.

“It is not our intent to regularly visit matters of this, where sensitivity has been a long-standing issue for Ben & Jerry’s,” Jope said.

Jope’s remarks come after Ben & Jerry’s independent board released a statement saying they took issue with the aspect of the July 19 announcement stating that they “will stay in Israel through a different arrangement.” The board alleged that Unilever inserted that line in there without approval from the board, in violation of their agreement.

Avi Zinger, the CEO of Ben & Jerry’s Israel, told the International Legal Forum on July 22 that he has received “thousands of calls” since the July 19 announcement about how they can support the Israel branch. He called the July 19 decision a “war” against Israel and the “Jewish people.” “We have to fight it together. We have to join our effort to make sure that the global company understands that Israel is not something they can play with, not something they can try to hurt. There is a price for it.”

Avi Zinger, CEO of @BenJerrysIsrael: "At end of the day, this is a war against #Israel & the Jewish people. We have to fight it together … to make sure @benandjerrys understand that Israel is not something they can play with or try to hurt and there is price for that." @The_ILF pic.twitter.com/9SCyMyNvhd

— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 22, 2021

Two New York towns have stated that they will enforce their anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement laws against Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever; Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar has said he is investigating whether Texas can enforce its anti-BDS law against them.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz issued a letter to Ben & Jerry’s on July 21 condemning their decision and urging them to reconsider. “The campaign against the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Israel calls its location a ‘settlement,’ when it is in fact an internationally recognized part of Israel. It’s clear this isn’t really about Israeli settlements, but about opposing Israel’s existence.”