This move represents a massive blow to the anti-Semitic BDS movement
By Nosson Shulman: Licensed Tour Guide of VIP Israel Tours & Authentic Virtual Tours (click here to check out his free trailer videos)
In an amazing turn of events, Unilever (the multinational conglomerate and parent company of Ben & Jerry’s) has announced that its subsidiary will no longer boycott Israel after reaching a settlement with American Quality Products (AQP) the ice cream company’s Israeli licensee. According to the terms of the deal, Unilever sold all of its business interests in Israel to AQP, allowing them to continue selling ice cream without limit or an expiration date on both sides of the green line. Even though the ice cream sold in Israel will no longer be under the auspices of Unilever or Ben and Jerry’s, the Israeli licensee retains the right to sell the ice cream using Ben and Jerry’s Arabic and Hebrew labelling (though not in English). This is a major defeat for the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
In July 2021, Ben and Jerry’s shocked the world when it became arguably the most prominent American company to ever announce it was boycotting large parts of Israel. The ice cream maker said that beginning in 2023, their products would no longer be sold in Jewish areas of Judah and Samaria. This brought intense heat upon its parent company Unilever, a multi-national conglomerate, because such action runs afoul of anti-Boycott laws in at least 35 states (which required their governments to divest any investments they had in the corporation and prohibiting purchase of their products).
Unilever claimed that their hands were tied, because when they bought the company they agreed to the founder’s stipulation that the ice cream maker would retain its board of directors independent from its parent company, meaning that could continue to promote the (often extreme) left wing views of its original founders. Although primarily a for-profit company, Ben and Jerry’s regularly involves itself in non-business related, political and “social” issues. Unilever claimed that it was unfair to hold the entire company liable for the actions of one of their subsidiaries. Unfortunately (for Unilever) states including New York, Florida and Arizona disagreed, and immediately divested hundreds of millions of dollars it had invested in the large conglomerate. Other states such as Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, and Maryland also initiated the process and many states had planned to follow suit. Within the first few months, the company lost more than 20 billion dollars of value, leading to lawsuits from shareholders and board members of the large corporation. Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating the company for not properly disclosing to investors the risks stemming from the boycott. High ranking US politicians began to pressure the company, personally complaining in writing to the SEC. These collective actions, and a lawsuit from the Israeli licensee, prompted the company to realize that it was in their best interests to quickly rethink their plans to boycott Israel.
As expected, the “socially minded” board members of Ben and Jerry’s condemned the decision from their parent company, tweeting “we do not agree with it” and “We continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben and Jerry’s values for our ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. They also added that “our company will no longer profit from Ben and Jerry’s in Israel.”
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.
Unique Sites of Israel Blog 