Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images The head of Ben & Jerry’s Independent Board has been accused of funneling money from The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation to the progressive think tank she runs.
The New York Post reported on August 28 that the National Legal and Policy Center watchdog filed a complaint with the IRS against Anuradha Mittal, pointing to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filings showing that The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation gave $104,000 to the Oakland Institute, a progressive think tank, in 2017 and 2018. Mittal earned $156,000 in 2017 and 2018 combined as the executive director of the Oakland Institute; the money from The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation went toward a project called “Palestine: For Land and Life,” which chronicled Palestinian “marginalization and struggle” in the West Bank, according to the Oakland Institute’s website.
This, the complaint argued, is “a possible violation of self-dealing as Mittal is considered a disqualified person under IRS rules.”
Additionally, The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation provided $3,000 to the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights in 2017; the European Union cut nearly $2 million from the organization in 2020 after they refused to sign a clause in their contract prohibiting funds from being used to fund terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, per the Post.
Various pro-Israel Twitter users weighed in on the report.
“I think @benandjerrys need a new flavor: Hypocrisy & Terror!” Human Rights Lawyer and International Legal Forum CEO Arsen Ostrovsky tweeted.
I think @benandjerrys need a new flavor: Hypocrisy & Terror! https://t.co/Hfyp9ZSbPH
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) August 31, 2021
Former New York Democratic Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who also heads Americans Against Antisemitism, tweeted: “Wherever there is antisemitism, you can bet your ice cream corruption can also be found! How unsurprising…”
Wherever there is antisemitism, you can bet your ice cream corruption can also be found!
How unsurprising…https://t.co/18dBobArZf
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) August 29, 2021
UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer tweeted regarding the use of The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation funds toward the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, “@BenandJerrys, why are you less concerned than the EU that your money is being used by Badil to fund terrorist organizations that have murdered Americans?”
The clause stated that no EU funds would be diverted to members of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.@BenandJerrys, why are you less concerned than the EU that your money is being used by Badil to fund terrorist organizations that have murdered Americans?
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) August 29, 2021
According to the Post, Mittal didn’t comment on the National Legal and Policy Center complaint but did say there were “false allegations” against The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation and Oakland Institute. Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s parent company, did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.
On July 19, Ben & Jerry’s announced that they would be leaving the “Occupied Palestinian Territory” but remain in Israel under a different arrangement. Mittal has claimed that the part about remaining in Israel was not run by the board as part of their agreement with Unilever. She also tweeted on July 27 that the Ben & Jerry’s decision “is not anti-Semitic. I am not anti-Semitic. The vile hate that has been thrown at me does it intimidate me. [Please] work for peace – not hatred!”
I am proud of @benandjerrys for taking a stance to end sale of its ice cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This action is not anti-Semitic. I am not anti-Semitic. The vile hate that has been thrown at me does it intimidate me.
Pls work for peace – not hatred!— Anuradha Mittal (@Mittaloak) July 27, 2021
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.