Ben & Jerry Speak Out: We Endorse The Ben & Jerry’s West Bank Pullout

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Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen, founders of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, photographed in Bennington, Vt. on July 3, 1980. (Ted Dully/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

VERMONT (JTA) — The Jewish founders of Ben & Jerry’s defended the ice cream company’s boycott of Israel’s West Bank settlements in an op-ed in the The New York Times.

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Bennett Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who sold the company decades ago and maintain no control over its operations, wrote in the op-ed Wednesday that they support Israel but oppose its policy of building settlements in the West Bank.

They argued that it was praiseworthy for a company espousing progressive values to make the decision that Ben & Jerry’s did.

“In our view, ending the sales of ice cream in the occupied territories is one of the most important decisions the company has made in its 43-year history,’ they wrote, adding that the boycott should be seen “not as anti-Israel, but as part of a long history of being pro-peace.”

They also defended the company, which is a Vermont-based subsidiary of Unilever, against accusations of antisemitism and supporting the BDS movement. “The decision to halt sales outside Israel’s democratic borders is not a boycott of Israel. The Ben & Jerry’s statement did not endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement,” they wrote.

“That we support the company’s decision is not a contradiction nor is it anti-Semitic,” they wrote. “In fact, we believe this act can and should be seen as advancing the concepts of justice and human rights, core tenets of Judaism. As Jewish supporters of the State of Israel, we fundamentally reject the notion that it is anti-Semitic to question the policies of the State of Israel.”

Since the company announced the West Bank boycott last week, Israeli officials and some American Jewish leaders have decried it as BDS or a boycott of Israel, even though the Ben & Jerry’s board and Unilever have both stressed that the boycott does not apply to Israel’s recognized borders.

But many Israeli officials reject that distinction. On Wednesday, 90 of the 120 members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, signed a letter calling the action a “decision to boycott towns and cities in Israel,” condemning it as “shameful” and “immoral.” After the letter was published, six left-wing lawmakers withdrew their signatures and implied that they had not seen the letter’s final wording when they signed.


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47 Comments
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Dan
Dan
2 years ago

There is no other place on earth that they choose to boycott? That is what makes it anti-semitic.

anonymous613
anonymous613
2 years ago

The judenrat is alive and well.

Democrats always back the islamic terrorists.
Democrats always back the islamic terrorists.
2 years ago

JINO scum.

Word on the street
Word on the street
2 years ago

Unilever is supposedly looking to get rid of Ben and Jerry. They can’t deal with the lefty looney toon left-wing wackos anymore.

Singing in the rain
Singing in the rain
2 years ago

Do hishtadlus and continue to boycott their product untill they drop.Then stay calm and focused . BDS will never hurt Israel in the long run. We have a G-D that keeps His eyes on the Holy Land at all times. We are believers and maminim. Some others here are just Minim.

Triumpinwhitehouse
Triumpinwhitehouse
2 years ago

Fools just like Meretz

is that funny?
is that funny?
2 years ago

ben & jerry? this is the gayest name for an ice cream!

YITZCHOKLEVI
Active Member
YITZCHOKLEVI
2 years ago

They say “advancing the core concepts of justice and human rights, core tenets of Judaism”.
With this statement, they show clearly that they know very little about Judaism.
It would be helpful if Chabad could reach out to them and offer to teach what Judaism is.
There is little that is more dangerous to us, than activist Jews who are oblivious of their heritage.

Educated Archy
Educated Archy
2 years ago

So gies the ideals of mr charedi jews for biden. A new made up judiasm. Secular non torah ideals are disastrous

HeshyEmes
HeshyEmes
2 years ago

Harav Schach, zatzal was undoubtedly a holy man. So was the Satmar Rebbe. But, unlike the Catholic Popes, they were human, and not infallible. Does anyone, with even a modicum knowledge of World History and a par or above IQ believe that Jews would be better off if chalileh there was no State of Israel? “B’chol dor v’dor….”, “Din Hu Esauv Soineh es Yaakov”. Perhaps if there was no State of Israel, & no Zionism, one could claim that the majority of the 3 million Jews that were living in Arab countries would still be alive; and perhaps the few million that had been living behind the Iron Curtain would mostly still be breathing; but even if they were physically ok, how would they be spiritually? Rav Schach & the Satmar Rebbe were “Kahnoim”; and a good balance for the Modern Orthodox, but their sheetahs were extreme & not sustainable by the “Hamoin Ahm”. Plus we have to look at “B’asher Hu shum”; even if the evil Neturei Karta had free reign, what do we do now? Dissolve Israel & hand over the keys to Hamas?

Rabbi Eden
Rabbi Eden
2 years ago

Left wing Jews & right wing fanatical Jews of all denominations should be vomited out of our midst pronto.

Reb Mech
Reb Mech
2 years ago

Boycott all Kof-K products until they remove kosher certification from these self- despising 2 perps.

Just2Truth
Just2Truth
2 years ago

Very good thinking. It is time for anti-zionism to differentiate itself from anti-semitism. Israel is an occupying country. Period.

Anonymous
Anonymous
2 years ago

They are right.
And if 90 out of 120 Zionist parliamentarians are against it, then that’s another indication that they’re right.

The Zionists are evil and hate Judaism. So criticizing Zionism is good for Judaism.

Rav Shach ruled halachicly that living in the territories is forbidden as a major aggression against the nations of the world. So not servicing the territories (other than for life-saving matters) is also not anti-Jewish.

Bottom line: Anyone may freely criticize the evil Zionists and their politics; doing so does not at all make them anti-Semitic. It’s almost mind-boggling that this even needs to be stated.

Last edited 2 years ago by