BREAKING NEWS: Florida Becomes First State to Take Official Action Against Unilever’s Boycott of Israel.

New York, Texas, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey are also reviewing their options against Ben and Jerry’s parent company.

By Nosson Shulman: Licensed Tour Guide of VIP Israel Tours & Authentic Virtual Tours (click here to check out his free trailer videos)

Florida has become the first US state to take official action against Unilever (the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s) after last week’s shocking announcement that they will no longer do business with the Jewish State! The embattled company has been placed on “Florida’s List of Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel” which gives the giant corporation 90 days to reverse its decision or face costly sanctions.

The last few years have seen the rise of the radical, anti-Semitic BDS (Boycotts, Divestments, Sanctions) movement which seeks to harm (and in many cases eradicate) the Jewish State through economic isolation. Some of their tactics include pressuring companies that do business with Israel, pushing Universities (and professors) to blacklist Israeli academic institutions, and coercing non-profit organizations to divest their money from investment funds which work with Israel (some officially target “only” Judea & Samaria & the Golan Heights, but the majority of them openly target the entire state).

To combat this disgraceful movement, 35 states have passed Anti-Boycott laws prohibiting their government from doing any business with (or awarding/renewing) contracts to companies who blacklist Israel. From them, 21 states explicitly include Judea & Samaria (aka the West Bank) in their laws, and 12 require their state to remove companies that engage in boycotts from state employee retirement investment funds (the latter of which experts say is far more damaging than simply ending contracts for goods & services)!

Started in 1978, Ben and Jerry’s became one of the most popular ice cream brands in the world. Its founders were known for their (often extreme) leftwing views. Though primarily a for-profit company, the company often involves itself in (non-business related) political issues. In 2000, they sold the company to the giant British conglomerate Unilever (who also own many huge companies including Dove, makers of soaps, shampoos, and many other products). Unilever claims that when they bought the company, they agreed to the founder’s’ stipulation that Ben and Jerry’s retain a board of directors who would remain independent from its parent company. Although the original owners are supposedly not involved in company decisions, they wrote an op-ed in the New York Times saying they are “proud” of the company for taking such a “brave” stance (although the company continues to do business with China despite its actions against Hong Kong and Taiwan, while staying silent on the country’s genocide (and forced slave labor) against the Uyghur Muslims).

Unilever is claiming that they are the victims because their hands are tied to stop this. They argue that it is unfair to hold the entire company liable for the actions of one of their subsidiaries. Unfortunately for the conglomerate, Florida (and most of the states with anti-BDS laws) does hold the parent company liable for the actions of its subordinate companies. According to the Florida government’s press release:

“Following the receipt of Governor DeSantis’ letter calling for an investigation of Ben & Jerry’s intention to stop selling its products in the heart of Israel, the SBA (Florida State Board of Administration) contacted Unilever’s investor relations team and conducted an engagement call with them on July 28th. During this call, the SBA was informed that Unilever had no plans to prevent Ben & Jerry’s from terminating its business activities in Israel. On that same day, the founders of the company, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, published an op-ed in the New York Times asserting that they are “proud of… (these) actions which “align its business and operations with its progressive values. There is nothing progressive about boycotting the only democracy in the Middle East.”

The Governor added “As a matter of law and principle, the State of Florida will not tolerate discrimination against the State of Israel or the Israeli people… Florida is sending a message to corporate America that we will defend our strong relationship with the Jewish State. I will not stand idly by as woke corporate ideologues seek to boycott and divest from our ally, Israel”.

Five other states (holding considerable economic influence) have also initiated the process of sanctioning the company. New York has already told the company that they have 90 days to reverse their decision or face sanctions (though unlike Florida, the penalties aren’t automatic on the expiry date like Florida). Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas are also reviewing their legal options.

Should these laws be enforced, Unilever stands to lose plenty! In addition to government cafeterias and events not carrying Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream (which on its own wouldn’t be a huge deal) they also plan not to carry the products of their subsidiaries such as Dove. As an example, several of these States have large contracts with the company to supply hygienic products to their prison populations (which if lost would clearly hurt their bottom line significantly). The law also requires the state pension fund to divest any money it has invested with Unilever (in New York alone, that would cause an immediate loss of $73 million, in addition to negatively affecting the company’s stock value).

Authors note: For Israel, a lot more than ice cream is at stake here. Many corporations are currently facing pressure to cease doing business with the Jewish State and are closely watching to see how this is played out. Everyone can do their part to counter the BDS movement by raising awareness (including by reaching out to Unilever and the stores that carry their products). Let them know what it means to you as a customer, share your concerns with local (and national) politicians, talk to your friends and/or congregations and share this (and similar) articles that discuss the threats posed by BDS!

Nosson Shulman is a journalist and Licensed Tour Guide in Israel specializing in Biblical tours. To allow tourists to experience Israel during the Corona era, he created the new hit Israel tour video series which brings Israel to the home of viewers by simulating actual tours. To check out his free sneak preview tour videos, click here. To view sample tour itineraries or to inquire about private tour opportunities with a personalized itinerary on your next trip to Israel, click here.