Unilever CEO Alan Jope responded to the mayor of Englewood Cliffs, NJ, where Unilever’s American headquarters are based, by reiterating his statement that Unilever is opposed to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The mayor, Mario A. Kranjac, wrote in an August 9 letter to Jope regarding Ben & Jerry’s Israel decision, “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.” He urged Jope “to reconsider your decision on this matter.”
Jope responded to Kranjac in an August 10 letter obtained by the Journal that appeared to be an almost word-for-word copy of his July 27 response to the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) concerns. “Let me begin by reiterating Unilever’s strong and longstanding commitment to our business in Israel. We employ nearly 2,000 people in the country across our four factories and head office, and we have invested approximately €250 million in the Israeli market over the last decade. Around 85% of the products we sell in Israel are made in Israel. We look forward to investing in our business in Israel long into the future.”
He added that under Unilever’s agreement with Ben & Jerry’s, they recognize “the right of the brand and [Ben & Jerry’s] independent Board to take decisions in accordance with its social mission.” Ben & Jerry’s will stay in Israel “under a different arrangement,” which Unilever welcomes “emphatically.”
“I would also like to make it exceptionally clear that Unilever rejects completely and repudiates unequivocally any form of discrimination or intolerance,” Jope wrote. “Antisemitism has no place in any society. We have never expressed any support for the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement and have no intention of changing that position.”
Kanjac did not find Jope’s response to be satisfactory, saying in a statement to the Journal, “The new letter from Mr. Jope is more corporate drivel from Unilever. They know they’ve made a mistake by discriminating against parts of Israel. Unilever should hold its subsidiary Ben & Jerry’s accountable for its actions and reiterate that discrimination has no place at Unilever.”
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt responded to Jope’s letter by stating: “We appreciate the unique business relationship between Unilever and its Ben and Jerry’s subsidiary; however, we still urge Unilever to do whatever it can to convince the Ben and Jerry’s board to change its position.” William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organization, similarly tweeted that “Unilever reportedly has the legal ability to override the recommendation of Ben & Jerry’s board to boycott Israel; we again strongly encourage them to do so, as boycotts of Israel are discriminatory and further inflame tensions.”
Following the July 19 announcement, Ben & Jerry’s independent board released a statement claiming that the part of the announcement that the company would remain in Israel was never run by them.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.