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Senator James Lankford (R-OK) is among a group of upset lawmakers threatening to cancel ice cream after Ben & Jerry’s announced this week that it will not renew its current license agreement with its maker in Israel, which also distributes frozen treats to the West Bank.
“If Ben & Jerry’s wants to collapse and boycott Israel, OK is ready to respond. Oklahoma has an anti-boycott of Israel law in place, ”Lankford wrote on Twitter Wednesday. More than two dozen states have laws opposing a boycott of Israel.
The Oklahoma Republican urged his state to “immediately block the sale of all #Benandjerrys” to Oklahoma.
The collapse comes after the best-selling ice cream maker said it was “inconsistent” with its values to sell its ice cream in “the occupied Palestinian territory.” The Vermont-based company, founded by outspoken liberal activists Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, said it would find another way to stay in Israel after its existing deal expires at the end of next year .
The resulting war on ice cream was swift.
“Now we Israelis know which ice cream NOT to buy,” former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.
The country’s newly sworn president, Isaac Herzog, on Wednesday called the boycott a “new kind of terrorism,” according to the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz. “Terrorism tries to harm the citizens of Israel and the economy of Israel. We must oppose this boycott and terrorism in all its forms, ”he said at a ceremony commemorating the deceased Israeli leaders.
The country’s newly elected Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also warned that the move would have “serious consequences” for Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company, Unilever, which bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000. Unilever has called the Israeli conflict. Palestinian “very complex and sensitive situation,” in a statement Monday, adding that it was determined to maintain its presence in Israel and welcomed the fact that Ben & Jerry’s was considering staying in the country.
But rabid GOP lawmakers used twisted logic, calling for the boycott to be quashed with a boycott and rekindled efforts to portray supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement as anti-Semitic.
Representative Lee Zeldin (R-NY) issued a statement calling the ice cream maker’s decision “discriminatory” and “shameful” targeting Jewish customers. He urged his state to quickly sever ties with the leading ice cream producer and its parent company.
“Our state must follow the standards that it has imposed on itself, lead by example and oppose this anti-Israel and anti-Jewish discrimination,” he said.
Pennsylvania Republican State Representative Aaron Kaufer also wrote a letter on Tuesday urging the governor, attorney general and state treasurer to “end any Ben & Jerry’s ice cream affiliation or service” in the state government of Pennsylvania, agencies and affiliates, state-related universities, parks, prisons and others on the basis of a law put in place to support Israel in promoting trade and commerce in the country .
In an interview with former New York State Assembly member Dov Hikind, Representative Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) criticized Ben & Jerry’s for depriving Americans of their ice cream, while urging them Americans not to buy their ice cream.
“I think it’s really important that Americans here send a message to Ben & Jerry’s by not buying their ice cream, quite frankly,” she said. “Trying to deprive people of their ice cream is really outrageous and they shouldn’t be part of what the BDS movement is.”
While not calling for Ben & Jerry’s sales to end, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, told reporters he believed the decision was a mistake and “won’t eat probably more Cherry Garcia for a while, ”one of the company’s signature flavors.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday that the Biden administration does not support the BDS movement which seeks to exert economic and political pressure on Israel internationally in solidarity with the Palestinians.
“We strongly reject the BDS movement, which unfairly singles out Israel,” Price told reporters on Tuesday. “While the Biden-Harris administration will fully and always respect the First Amendment rights of our citizens, the American people, the United States will be a strong partner in combating efforts around the world that potentially seek to delegitimize Israel and will work tirelessly to support Israel’s further integration into the international community.
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