Ben & Jerry’s to boycott West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements



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Famous ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s on Monday announced plans to boycott West Bank settlements and Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, refusing to allow the sale of its products in those areas.

“We believe it is incompatible with our values ​​that Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT),” the company said in a notice it posted on its website.

The move gives a boost to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which has targeted the Vermont-based American company for the past decade.

The Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine group had been particularly active on the issue.

The ice cream company, known for taking a stand on social justice issues, said it was not boycotting Israel, but simply the “occupied Palestinian territories.”

He said he would maintain his sales relations with areas of Israel inside the pre-1967 borders.

“Although Ben & Jerry’s is no longer sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, we will remain in Israel under a different arrangement. We will share an update on this as soon as we are ready,” the company said.

The boycott language used by Ben & Jerry’s was vague in that it referred to “occupied Palestinian territories” and did not mention the words “settlements” or “East Jerusalem”, but it can be assumed that these are the territories to which it is referred to.

Ben & Jerry’s said, “We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners.

“We have a long-standing partnership with our licensee, who makes Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region.

“We have been working to change that, so we have informed our licensee that we will not be renewing the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year.

A resident of Ma’aleh Adumim settlement who did not want to be named said he was disappointed by the announcement, but added that it would not prompt him to boycott Ben & Jerry’s in return.

“It’s by far the best ice cream you can get in the stores here,” he said. “I’m just going to buy my New York Chunk Fudge in Jerusalem and smuggle it home after going through all the checkpoints.”



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