Axios reported on Tuesday that Israel had launched a “maximum pressure” campaign to pressure Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company Unilever to reverse the decision to stop selling ice cream in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
According to the report, on July 22nd, Israel’s Foreign Ministry sent a cable to diplomatic missions in North America and Europe to start a “pressure campaign” against the ice cream company. The Foreign Ministry wanted diplomats to push for public statements condemning the move and to “encourage public protests in the media and directly with key executives in both companies” that should be amplified by social media.
“We need to make use of the 18 months that are left until the decision comes into force and try to change it. We want to create long-term pressure on Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s by consumers, politicians, and in the press and social media in order to lead to a dialogue with the companies,” the cable said.
The Foreign Ministry instructed the Israeli Embassy in Washington to pressure US states with laws against the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement to start enforcing them against Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever. Gilad Erdan, the Israeli ambassador to the US, sent a letter to the governors of over 30 US states with anti-BDS laws urging them to enforce the legislation.
Some states were quick to act on behalf of Israel and have taken steps to divest state funds from Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever, including Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey. Israel’s Foreign Ministry also asked its diplomats to engage with mayors, state officials, and members of Congress.
Ben & Jerry’s move won’t come into effect until the end of 2022, and the company plans to keep selling ice cream in Israel, as the decision only applies to the illegal settlements. Israel fears the decision Ben & Jerry’s decision will encourage other companies to also differentiate between Israel and the West Bank settlements.
The reaction by Israel to an ice cream company not selling its product in settlements demonstrates that the state feels threatened by the BDS movement. While Ben & Jerry’s announcement did not mention BDS, the decision was made after years of pressure from BDS activists. The pressure on Ben & Jerry’s increased in the wake of Israel’s latest major bombing campaign in Gaza, which killed over 250 Palestinians, including over 60 children.
Disclosure: Antiwar.com has received donations in the past from Ben Cohen, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s
How absolutely pathetic, and obviously paranoid behavior. An ice-cream company dares to stop selling in ILLEGAL colonies on stolen Palestinian land, so the world has fallen apart! US States which already by local laws make all their citizens support Israeli policies, now have to be more draconian, for a few ice creams!!!!!
Zionazi HASBARA on Steroids !!
Ben & Jerry’s with Unilever must push the first amendment in court against these tyrannical and illegal laws that curry favor to the Zionist state. These state governments who passed the anti-BDS legislation are traitors to the American people and our republic as a whole. We must stop all undue mendacious influence from the Zionist state and those like it.
They should not back down. Pull out of the State of Zionism. Completely, Let the citizens travel to bordering countries to get their B&J.
China has a million people in re-education camps, and threatens to seize Taiwan-no one boycotts them. Typical.
Incorrect.
In what way?
You claim no one boycotts China. I linked to the Wikipedia article on boycotts of China.
That article actually proves there are almost no real boycotts of China. Most of the article discusses opinion polls supporting a boycott, but nothing of substance ever evolved from it.
The other references are some minor government mandated sanctions or embargoes such as US miserable attempts at coercing China.
Missing from that article is any mention of significant economic damage China has suffered from boycotts.
So, the world seems perfectly willing to continue trade with China no matter what the ineffectual US wants.
And the same is true of Israel.
Having he most effective PR in the world, I fear that the Zionists will be successful in forcing Unilever to return to the occupied territories. It is obvious that the Zionists are telling the world to f*ck off,, they know what they are doing is illegal and they don’t care, because their mission is to snuff out the Palestinians.
The shining star, the house on the hill, the United States of America is the number one participant in this grand plan for the Palestinians.
Are you sure Israel has the world’s most effective PR? Or does that accolade belong to Ben and Jerry’s?
[Israel’s War Crimes: Is the Tide Finally Turning?-Global Research]
https://www.globalresearch.ca/tide-finally-turning/5751220