Prime Minister of Israel warned Unilever Ben & Jerry’s decision will bring “serious consequences” Reuters

By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters)-Israel on Tuesday warned consumer goods giant Unilever (NYSE:) Plc, whose subsidiary Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop selling ice cream in Israeli-occupied territories will have “serious consequences”, and urged the US states to invoke countermeasures. Monopoly law. Boycott the law.

Ben & Jerry’s announcement on Monday came after the South Burlington, Vermont-based company’s operations in Israel and Jewish settlements in the West Bank were under pro-Palestinian pressure. Since 1987, the company has been licensed Party partners handle.

Ben & Jerry’s stated that it will not renew the license when it expires at the end of next year. It stated that it will stay in Israel according to different arrangements and not sell in the West Bank or areas where Palestinians are seeking to establish a state.

Most world powers consider Israeli settlements illegal. It has objected to this area on the grounds of its historical and security ties, and has taken actions to punish the anti-settlement measures under Israeli law, while obtaining similar legal protections in some states in the United States.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he had a conversation with Unilever CEO Alan Jope about the “obvious anti-Israel measures” of ice cream manufacturers.

“From an Israeli point of view, this action will have serious consequences, whether legal or otherwise, and it will actively oppose any boycott measures against civilians,” Bennett told Qiaopu, according to his office. statement.

Unilever did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The Israeli ambassador to Washington, Gilad Erdan, stated that he proposed Ben & Jerry’s decision in a letter to 35 US governors whose state legislation opposed the boycott of Israel.

“Quick and determined action must be taken to counter this discriminatory and anti-Semitist behavior,” the envoy wrote on Twitter. The letter likened this to Airbnb’s 2018 announcement that it would cancel residential rental properties.

After facing legal challenges in the United States, Airbnb overturned this decision in 2019, but said it would donate profits from settlement bookings to humanitarian causes.

The Palestinians welcomed Ben & Jerry’s statement. They hope that the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip will become the nations of the future. Israel considers the entire Jerusalem as its capital—a status that is not recognized internationally.