loading…
Ben Cohen (left) and Jerry Greenfield co-founders of the ice cream company Ben & Jerrys who challenged Israel. Photo: AP/Patrick Semansky
ISRAEL – On July 19, 2021, Ben & Jerry’s tweeted something outrageous on Twitter. They said they would stop selling ice cream in Israeli residential territories in the West Gulf and East Jerusalem.
The area is commonly known as the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Currently, there are 4.5 million Palestinians living there (2.7 million in the West Gulf and 1.8 million in Gaza).
READ ALSO: Why Xiaomi Releases RedmiBook 15 Cheap Laptop in Indonesia?
The West Gulf and East Jerusalem have been under Israeli control since 1967. More than 600,000 Jews live in 140 settlements there. Slowly, continuing to shift the territory and the existence of the Palestinians. The settlements are illegal under international law. But, Israel does not care and continues to build new settlements until now.
Ben & Jerry’s said they no longer want to sell their ice cream products in Israeli settlements or OPT. The reason is, because it is considered “not in accordance with the values upheld by the company,”.
Of course this caused a stir in the world. Why did Ben & Jerry’s dare to take such a desperate step? Moreover, Ben & Jerry’s, which was founded in 1978, in Vermont, America, is under the control of Unilever. Well, what’s interesting is seeing the world’s response to this Ben & Jerry’s move.
Israeli Government Threat
The boycott of Ben & Jerry’s actually made the Israeli government laugh.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called Ben & Jerry’s two fatal mistakes: a moral mistake and a financial one.
“This boycott of Israel has not worked, and will not work. We will fight with all our might,” said Bennett.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called Ben & Jerry’s move a disgrace. Yair also accused Ben & Jerry’s of supporting anti-Semitism and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Anti-Semitism is an attitude of hostility or prejudice towards Jews. Meanwhile, BDS is a global campaign that pressures Israel from an economic and political perspective to comply with the movement’s goal: ending the Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestinian land.
According to Yair, more than 30 states in America have passed anti-BDS laws in recent years. “I plan to ask each state to enforce this law against Ben & Jerry’s,” he threatened.
This means that Ben & Jerry’s is likely to be in big trouble. Especially when he was deemed to have violated the anti-BDS laws in the 30 states of the United States.
Moreover, the Joe Biden government is also anti-BDS movement.
– .
