Manhattan Ben & Jerry’s Store Calls Out Corporate Boycott Policy

NEW YORK (VINnews) — At least one Ben & Jerry’s store owner is not down with the company’s decision to boycott Israel.

Joel Gasman runs a Ben & Jerry’s location on West 104th Street and Broadway in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and he isn’t hiding his distaste with the company’s recent announcement.

“We couldn’t sit back and watch without speaking up,” said Gasman on Thursday in an interview with the New York Post.

“It has definitely hurt our bottom line and our overall store value. We did fear boycotts from customers. We still do,” Gasman said.

Gasman added, “We’ve lost some foot traffic as well as bigger catering jobs that usually help us during the summer. We’re getting bad reviews online that have nothing to do with the store, only in regards to corporate’s views.”

But Gasman decided to make a statement and support Israel. He decided to donate 10% of his profits to fund educational causes in Israel, in stark contrast to the corporate ce cream maker’s politics.

Gasman first went viral on Monday when he posted a statement to Facebook, making it clear that his store was not on the same ideological wave-length as the corporate office.

“The recent actions by [B&J’s] corporate office do not reflect our personal views, and we’re saddened by the impact that this has had on our business and the Jewish community,” wrote Gasman. “We are proud Jews, Americans, and active supporters of the New York Jewish community and State of Israel.”

The post generated over 380 comments, with many of the commentors in support of the statement.

In fact, some of the customers in the following days stated that they came in to support the store’s stance on Israel.