Ben & Jerry’s Boycotts Israelis

This week, Ben & Jerry’s announced that it will stop selling its ice cream in the “the Occupied Palestinian Territory." Once again, the progressive left must be forced to answer a simple yet troubling question: Why Israel and no one else? By Aaron Kliegman Once again, the progressive left must be forced to answer a simple yet troubling question: Why Israel and no one else? This week, Ben & Jerry’s announced that it will stop selling its ice cream in the “the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” which can only mean the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Specifically, Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. So, why the boycott? According to a statement from the Vermont-based company, selling ice cream in these Jewish communities “is inconsistent with our values.” That’s bad. But, hey, at least Ben & Jerry’s clarified it will stay in Israel and just opposes the so-called Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. Right? Wrong. It seems Ben & Jerry’s independent board of directors actually wanted to boycott all of Israel, not just specific communities. According to chairwoman Anuradha Mittal, the ice cream maker’s parent company, Unilever, overstepped its authority by saying Ben & Jerry’s will remain in Israel without the board’s approval. But here’s the thing: It doesn’t really matter. Boycotting settlements effectively means boycotting all of Israel — even if Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s wanted to cease sales in just the West Bank and East Jerusalem. That’s because under Israeli law, a business can’t discriminate among Israeli citizens, regardless of their address (even if it’s in a West Bank settlement). Plus, Israel considers East Jerusalem its sovereign territory. In other words, the licensee who manufactures and distributes Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel — the one with whom Ben & Jerry’s is ending its license agreement — has no choice but to end its relationship with the ice cream company. Make no mistake: Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s were fully aware of this. If they didn’t know before, the licensee would have informed them before this week’s announcement of the obvious truth: As a practical matter, by taking this “moral stand,” Ben & Jerry’s is ending its business with Israel. Which brings us back to our original question: Why Israel and no one else? After all, Ben & Jerry’s hasn’t boycotted any other country in this manner, including occupiers and human rights abusers. Ironically, just this week, China’s autocratic leader, Xi Jinping, visited Tibet to mark the 70th anniversary of China seizing the area — first occupying and then outright annexing it. While in Tibet, Xi ordered local provincial officials to work toward making Tibetans identify more with the “great motherland, Chinese people, Chinese culture, the Chinese Communist Party, and socialism with Chinese characteristics.” He also said that only when Tibetans “follow the party,” meaning the ruling Chinese Communist Party, can the “rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” be realized. Leading up to Xi’s visit, Chinese officials called for “political education” and “patriotic re-education” to further weaken Tibetans’ loyalty to the exiled Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader. But don’t expect Ben & Jerry’s to call out Tibet or even Xinjiang, where China puts ethnic minorities in concentration camps, or occupied Northern Cyprus — all places, by the way, where Unilever does business. Unless of course Jews move there. Maybe then we’d see some action. The double standard is undeniable. And that’s even putting aside the fact that China kills, tortures, and imprisons Tibetans arbitrarily while Israel has repeatedly offered the Palestinians their own state in peace deal after peace deal (all of which the Palestinians have rejected). There is no moral equivalency here, yet the murderous autocracy is acceptable while the vibrant democracy is beyond the pale. None of this should be surprising, however, for one simple reason: Ben & Jerry’s is a far-left company with a woke, progressive agenda. For years, the ice cream maker has taken countless progressive stances, from paying homage to Bernie Sanders to rebranding one of its flavors “Pecan Resist” to stand against the Trump administration. It has become painfully clear that the woke left reserves a unique, visceral hatred for Israel — an irrational obsession that makes no sense given Israel’s progressive values at home compared to the barbarism of the likes of Iran and North Korea. The anti-Israel hatred has gotten so bad that leftists are ignoring antisemitism inside America and spreading misinformation about Israel to demonize it simply for defending itself Ben & Jerry’s, which previously had to backtrack for supporting the antisemitic leaders of the Women’s March, is just another anti-Israel far-left group Maybe instead of asking why Israel and no else, the question should be rephrased: Is it just a coincidence that Israel happens to be the world’s only Jewish state? It’s really rhetorical, because at this point, we know the answer. Newt hosts monthly virtual events in which he discusses news of the day and why it matters to you and your community. These Newt Live events are your opportunity to communicate directly with Newt. We hope you will join us next time and let Newt answer your questions and provide his insight on the issues that concern you most. JOIN TODAY to be a part of this special event and receive a BONUS GIFT. 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