Mario M. Kranjac, the mayor of the Englewood Cliffs, NJ, urged Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, to “reconsider” Ben & Jerry’s Israel decision in an August 9 letter. Englewood Cliffs is where Unilever’s United States headquarters are located.
Kranjac wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Journal, that Ben & Jerry’s decision to cease operating in the “Occupied Palestinian Territory” was “disturbing” and violated the state’s law against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
“I strongly encourage you to reevaluate your company’s position and to treat everyone fairly without the virtue signaling that ultimately creates unfair treatment,” Kranjac wrote to Unilever CEO Alan Jope. “While we are grateful for the presence of Unilever in our community, discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated.”
He went on to call Israel “one of the most democratic and free countries in the world” as well as “a beacon of freedom in the Middle East, and one of America’s greatest allies. It concerns me that your company is so quick to chastise Israel, while continuing to support and profit from other countries and movements that daily commit substantial human rights violations, genocide, unlawful imprisonment, forced ‘re-education,’ and race-based classifications.”
Kranjac concluded his letter to Jope with a call for the company to live up to its mission statement of adding “vitality to life” and said that Englewood Cliffs “stands with Israel” as well as “anyone that is wrongly targeted. I strongly encourage you to reconsider your decision on this matter and to add vitality to all lives.”
Jope wrote in a July 27 letter to the Anti-Defamation League that Unilever has “welcomed [Ben & Jerry’s] decision to stay in Israel emphatically” and that “Unilever rejects completely and repudiates unequivocally any form of discrimination or intolerance. Anti-Semitism has no place in any society. We have never expressed any support for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and have no intention of changing that position.” However, following the July 19 announcement, Ben & Jerry’s independent board released a statement claiming that the part of the announcement that stated they were going to remain in Israel was never run by them.
A spokeswoman for New Jersey’s Treasury Department told NJ.com that they were investigating “whether any actions must be taken to ensure continued compliance with the state’s anti-BDS law.” A spokeswoman for New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, also told NJ.com that the governor “was disappointed in the decision by Ben and Jerry’s. The governor believes we must continue working toward the shared goal of peace and mutual respect.”
