N.J. to Pull $182 Million Out of Unilever Over Ben & Jerry’s and Israel
“New Jersey has become the latest state to announce plans to divest from the company that owns Ben & Jerry’s over its decision to stop selling ice cream in Israeli-occupied territories.
The state’s Division of Investment sent a letter this week to Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s whose American headquarters are in New Jersey, explaining that a state law passed in 2016 prohibited the investment of state pension funds in businesses that engaged in boycotts.
At the start of this week, New Jersey had $182 million invested in Unilever stock, bonds and other securities, a spokeswoman for the state’s treasury department said.
The move came as a response to Ben & Jerry’s announcement in mid-July that it would stop selling its products in the occupied Palestinian territories. “We believe it is inconsistent with our values for our product to be present within an internationally recognised illegal occupation,” the company said on its website.”
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Imagine. An American state (one of several) is divesting from Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, because the two Jewish ice cream magnates have decided that they do not want their product being sold in illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The ice cream will still be sold in Israel of course. That is the nearby Jewish country the settlers choose not to live in because they can live more cheaply in the land snatched from under the Palestinians in 1967.
These settlers have it good. They are well-defended by the Israeli army, they drive on fancy “Jews Only” highways, and they know that so long as American politicians are funded by rich donors, the United States will use its veto and other powers to prevent anyone from making them move back to…Israel.
Frankly, I don’t understand why B&J couldn’t boycott Israel itself if it chose to. Or France or Canada or whatever. It is perfectly legal for American businesses to boycott American states to protest particular policies of that state. Just four years ago a boycott of North Carolina organized to protest its law stripping various rights from transgender people cost that state $4 billion in lost business. It wasn’t long before the state capitulated and repealed the law.
I won’t explain how state laws banning boycotts of Israeli settlements come to exist. Simply put, they are bought as I explain here in my Nation piece on AIPAC. If the North Carolina law had been defended by legions of check-writing lobbyists and donors, it would still be on the books. As James Carville might say, “it’s the money stupid.”
Enough of that except for this. Here is Jeremy Ben Ami, founder of J Street, explaining why he is doubling down on his enjoyment of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and why you should too.
STOP THE MELTDOWN OVER BEN & JERRY’S ISRAEL DECISION
Jeremy Ben-Ami
I’m a simple guy with simple likes and dislikes.
I’m a huge fan of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (anything with chocolate). I’ve also had a lifelong love affair with Israel.
My family’s from there. I’ve lived there. I’m proud of so much of what the country has accomplished.
And I can’t stand the occupation. It’s just not right for Israel to rule over millions of Palestinians without full rights while it moves its own citizens onto land that one day must and should become the state of the Palestinian people.
My fondest hope is that Israel will be a secure, just, democratic national home for the Jewish people, something it can never be if it permanently holds the territory it occupied in 1967 without providing the people who live there with full and equal rights.
So when Ben & Jerry’s says it wants to sell ice cream in Israel but not in the settlements, that seems — to me — a rational and principled, even pro-Israel, position.
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I’m blown away by the overreaction of those calling this decision “antisemitic.” Antisemitism is brutal and real. My family lost lives because of it. Jews around the world fear it on a daily basis.
But calling this decision “antisemitic” is absurd. In fact, it undermines and trivializes the critical fight against the very real increase in antisemitism in the United States and around the world in recent years.
Equally, it’s inconceivable to me that people are calling for the company to face governmental retaliation for this decision.
Now, both J Street and I oppose the Global BDS Movement, which doesn’t recognize the state of Israel or the Jewish people’s right to a national homeland. But when a company says it will do business in Israel — that’s not BDS.
So that’s how I see it. The over-the-top response to this decision (you might call it a ‘meltdown’) is unwarranted and harmful.
Ben & Jerry’s decision is a legitimate, peaceful protest against the systemic injustice of occupation and a reminder that the settlements are, in fact, illegal under international law.
It’s a line in the sand between Israel and the occupation that makes perfect sense to the overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans who support a two-state solution and oppose settlement expansion.
At J Street, our work is to make sure that the voice of this majority is heard loud and clear in moments like this.
And, by the way, if you’re going to buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, try my two favorite flavors together: Netflix & Chilled combined with Chunky Monkey.