Ben & Jerry’s has said it does not agree with its parent company’s decision to sell off the ice-cream brand’s Israeli business.
Unilever announced this week it had sold off Ben & Jerry’s business in Israel in an attempt to extricate itself from a row over sales of the ice-cream in settlements in the West Bank.
Ben & Jerry’s independent board announced last summer that the brand would no longer sell its products in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying to do so was “inconsistent with our values”.
The decision was one of the highest-profile boycotts by a well-known brand of Israel’s settlements, which are regarded as illegal under international law.
Ben and Jerry’s board had planned not to renew a licence with its local partner – American Quality Products (AQP) – which made and distributed the ice-cream in Israel, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, when it expired at the end of this year.
However, Unilever said this week it had sold the Israeli arm of Ben & Jerry’s to Avi Zinger, the owner of AQP.
Under the terms of the deal, ice-cream with the same flavours and similar artwork will continue to be sold across Israel but using only the Hebrew and Arabic version of the brand names – not the English brand, Ben & Jerry’s. A Unilever spokesperson said the company would not receive any licensing income from the sale of the products.
Ben & Jerry’s said: “While our parent company has taken this decision, we do not agree with it. We continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerry’s values for our ice-cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
It added that Ben & Jerry’s would “no longer profit from Ben & Jerry’s in Israel”.
Unilever’s move was also criticised by one of its shareholders, KLP which is Norway’s largest pension fund.
Kiran Aziz, the head of responsible investments at KLP, said: “Disappointingly, Unilever has bowed to pressure and is putting profits over human rights in stark contrast to Ben and Jerry’s which took a principled stance against the Israeli government’s illegal and brutal occupation.”
It said global investors should “praise and reward progressive companies like Ben and Jerry’s” for taking human rights violations seriously.
“The human rights abuses situation is worsening further still throughout the occupied West Bank,” she added.
The West Bank and East Jerusalem were captured by Israel in the 1967 six-day war. Now 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the two territories – roughly 500,000 in the occupied West Bank and 200,000 in East Jerusalem.
Israel treats the two areas separately, considering occupied East Jerusalem as part of its capital and the West Bank as disputed territory whose fate should be resolved in negotiations.
However, the international community considers both areas to be occupied territory. The Palestinians seek the West Bank as part of a future independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Unilever said it had decided to make the deal with AQP after “extensive consultation over several months, including with the Israeli government”.
It added that it did not support the boycott, divestment, sanctions movement against Israel.
