In another major win for the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement., the ice cream US giant, Ben and Jerry’s announced Monday that it “will end sales of our ice cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
In a statement posted on its website, the company said: “We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners.”
The decision will not take immediate effect, the company said, as it must honor existing contracts, however “we will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year.”
Ben & Jerry's says it will stop selling its ice cream in occupied Palestinian territory.
It has a factory in Israel and has faced calls for a boycott for selling its products in illegal Israeli settlements. It has been silent on Twitter since May when Israel attacked Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Sw97oSm9S5
— AJ+ (@ajplus) July 19, 2021
Ben and Jerry’s, however will continue to be sold in Israel.
The company has been the subject of the boycott campaign for years, after in 2011, Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel (VTJP) began a discussion with Ben & Jerry’s in South Burlington, Vermont, concerning their long-standing contractual relationship with an Israeli franchise that manufactures ice cream in Israel and sells it in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Since 2013, thousands of individuals and 239 organizations in 20 countries, including Israel, and from the District of Columbia and the occupied Palestinian territories, called on Ben & Jerry’s to honor its Social Mission by severing its franchise’s business with Israeli settlements.
Ben & Jerry's says it will no longer sell its ice cream in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. It's seen as one of the highest-profile rebukes by a well-known company of Israel’s policy of settling its citizens on war-won lands sought by Palestinians.https://t.co/GCWLfADnjD
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 19, 2021
The company clearly states on its website that it believes in “using our business to make the world a better place”, including through a commitment “to honoring the rights of all people to live with liberty, security, self-esteem, and freedom of expression and protest” and “achieving equity, opportunity, and justice for communities across the globe that have been historically marginalized.”
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
