Enjoy Ben & Jerry’s Every Year in Jerusalem Even the brand associated with leftist activism is now wisely rejecting radical politics. James Freeman
The leftist losing streak continues. First San Francisco voters of all people decide that they’ve had enough of so-called progressives laying waste to education and public safety. Then the Supreme Court signals that it’s done seizing political powers from the people and their elected representatives. And now even the commercial brand synonymous with counterculture capitalism is moving toward the sensible center.
Casual observers may think that the nasty wokesters who now dominate campus discourse spend all their time attacking American traditions like limited constitutional governance and free speech. Recently we learned that even after leaving campus they also spend healthy portions of time attacking each other. But there are still plenty of hours left in the day for policy mischief directed at other countries, too.
Having surveyed a world populated by too many malevolent dictators, the campus left somehow decided that the appropriate targets for sanctions are our friends in democratic Israel. And the lefties even bullied a number of institutions into going along.
But the encouraging news of the day is that the San Francisco of consumer food brands is restoring service to a part of the world where there is no shortage of ice cream weather. “ Unilever today announced it has reached a new arrangement for Ben & Jerry’s in Israel which will ensure the ice cream stays available to all consumers,” says a press release from Unilever, which adds:
The company has sold its Ben & Jerry’s business interests in Israel to Avi Zinger, the owner of American Quality Products Ltd (AQP), the current Israel-based licensee. The new arrangement means Ben & Jerry’s will be sold under its Hebrew and Arabic names throughout Israel and the West Bank under the full ownership of its current licensee.
Under the terms of Unilever’s acquisition agreement of Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, Ben & Jerry’s and its independent Board were granted rights to take decisions about its social mission, but Unilever reserved primary responsibility for financial and operational decisions and therefore has the right to enter this arrangement.
The new business arrangement follows a Unilever review of Ben & Jerry’s in Israel after the brand and its independent Board announced last year its decision to discontinue sales of its ice cream in the West Bank…
Unilever rejects completely and repudiates unequivocally any form of discrimination or intolerance. Antisemitism has no place in any society. We have never expressed any support for the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement and have no intention of changing that position.
Unilever is very proud of our business in Israel which supplies everyday household products to people across the country.
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