State Treasurers Urge Unilever to End Ben & Jerry’s Boycott

A coalition of state treasurers urged Unilever in a December 9 letter to veto Ben & Jerry’s boycott of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The letter, which was signed by Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, Idaho State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth, Nebraska State Treasurer John Murante, Oklahoma State Treasurer Randy McDaniel, West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore, Louisiana State Treasurer John Schroder, and Mississippi State Treasurer David McRae, argued that legal analysis from StandWithUs and the Israeli-American Coalition (IAC) for Acton showed that Unilever “may not have been truthful” in their argument that they have no control over Ben & Jerry’s activism. The treasurers pointed to a recent Newsweek op-ed by law professors at Harvard and Boston University stating that under the arrangement between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s, the ice cream giant is obligated to “help Unilever sell the premium ice cream in Israel.”

“Therefore, Unilever’s failure to exercise its apparent basis for overriding Ben & Jerry’s boycott may directly implicate your company as an active participant in the boycott at issue,” the letter stated.

Yee said in a statement, “I was proud to lead Arizona as the first state in a national effort to divest from woke company Ben & Jerry’s for their anti-Semitic, discriminatory boycott of Israel, divesting $143 million in September.”

“This is an example of how radical, woke politics can lead companies down the slippery slope of anti-Semitic, discriminatory efforts against Israel,” she added. “Divesting Arizona public funds from Unilever holds these companies accountable for their actions. Arizona won’t do business with companies that exhibit discriminatory behavior, especially when it is an attack on America’s longtime ally and friend Israel. It is time for Unilever to divest itself from Ben & Jerry’s.”

Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee and fellow state treasurers join @israeliamerican and @StandWithUs to call on Unilever to override Ben & Jerry’s boycott of Israel. Read Press Release here: https://t.co/7rvKa3Lgik pic.twitter.com/n3HJDZ2WCT

— Office of the Arizona State Treasurer (@AZTreasury) December 9, 2021

Unilever did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.

StandWithUs and IAC for Action’s letter to Unilever, dated October 15, argued that the contract between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s states that Ben & Jerry’s can only engage in such action when it is “commercially reasonable.” “Boycotting an entire country is, in fact, commercially unreasonable, especially when it triggers counter-boycotts by states and consumer groups and divestment of state pension funds,” the letter stated. “In fact, since the boycott announcement, Unilever has underperformed competitors, suggesting that the boycott decision has harmed your investors.”

Additionally, four members of the House of Representatives––including Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY)––sent a letter to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 26 expressing “deep concern” that Unilever is failing to disclose the “material risk” associated with the Ben & Jerry’s boycott, noting that Unilever’s shares have declined by 13% since the boycott was announced. Michael Ashner, who heads Winthrop Capital Partners and has a stake in Unilever, told the Journal at the time: “You can’t have it both ways if you are Unilever. On the one hand, if you say you can’t override [the Ben & Jerry’s boycott], then you’ve got to disclose the material risk. If you can override, then you are participating in the boycott yourself, which they claim they are not.”