Ben & Jerry’s slammed by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu after announcing boycott of “occupied Palestinian territory”



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Vermont ice cream giant and social justice enclave Ben & jerry’s received backlash on Monday from Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, after announcing that the company would no longer sell its frozen desserts in “Occupied Palestinian territory. “

The ice cream company has spoken out in the past on social justice issues and announced that it will no longer sell its desserts in the “occupied Palestinian territory”, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

“We have a long-standing partnership with our licensee, which manufactures Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region,” the company said in a statement. Press release. “We have been working to change this, so we have informed our licensee that we will not be renewing the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year.”

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“Although Ben & Jerry’s is no longer sold in the occupied Palestinian territories, we will remain in Israel under a different arrangement,” the statement concluded. “We’ll share an update on this as soon as we’re ready.”

The announcement drew a sharp rebuke from Bennett and Netanyahu, with the current Israeli prime minister saying that Ben & Jerry’s “have decided to present themselves as anti-Israel ice cream.”

“The boycott against Israel… reflects that they have gone completely astray,” Bennett added. “The boycott does not and will not work and we will fight it with all our might.”

“Now we Israelis know which ice cream NOT to buy,” Netanyahu tweeted on Monday, featuring Israeli flag emojis and a flexing bicep.

The anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement applauded the company’s decision.

“After years of #BDS campaigns [Ben & Jerry’s] announced that it would end sales of its ice cream in Israel’s illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land. We warmly welcome their decision, but call on Ben & Jerry’s to end all operations in Israeli apartheid, “the movement wrote on Twitter, adding the hashtag” #BDSsuccess “.

“Ben and Jerry’s, a leading international socially responsible company, is finally bringing its policy on Israel’s oppressive regime against the Palestinians in line with its position on Black lives matter and other struggles for justice, “the press release accompanying the tweet read.

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“We hope that Ben and Jerry’s understood that, in keeping with its commitments to social justice, there can no longer be a status quo with Israeli apartheid,” the statement concluded.

Ben & Jerry’s made headlines last year when they supported the Defund the Police movement.

A spokesperson for Ben & Jerry’s declined to comment on Netanyahu’s tweet and whether or not the company supports the BDS movement, referring Fox News to their press release.

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