90 Knesset members send petition to Ben & Jerry's opposing boycott

The letter was signed by five Labor MKs, six Blue and White MKs and Yair Golan of Meretz. No Arabs signed it, but Druze MKs did.

JULY 28, 2021 20:44

ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE between Israel’s electoral system and that of most other Western democracies is the lack of any direct connection between the people who gain a seat in the Knesset and ordinary Israeli voters. (photo credit: ALEX KOLOMOISKY / POOL) — ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE between Israel’s electoral system and that of most other Western democracies is the lack of any direct connection between the people who gain a seat in the Knesset and ordinary Israeli voters.

(photo credit: ALEX KOLOMOISKY / POOL)

Three-quarters of the Knesset, 90 MKs from across the political spectrum, sent a letter to Ben & Jerry’s parent company Unilever on Wednesday complaining about its decision to boycott Judea and Samaria.

The letter, initiated by MK Merav Ben-Ari (Yesh Atid), was sent to the CEO of Unilever international, Alan Jope.

“This decision to boycott towns and cities in Israel, as well as the company’s attempt to force this boycott practice immediately on the Israeli manufacturer, is an immoral and regrettable decision that harms all residents of Judea and Samaria, as well as hundreds of Israeli workers, Jews and Arabs alike,” the MKs wrote in the letter.

The letter was signed by five Labor MKs, six Blue and White MKs and Yair Golan of Meretz. No Arab MKs signed it, but a Druze MK did. It says that the Ben & Jerry’s boycott violates the laws of the State of Israel.

“We urge you to rethink this decision and to amend this injustice,” the MKs wrote.

The leadership of the Israeli Ben & Jerry’s licensee, which vigorously opposes the boycott, wrote Ben-Ari thanking her and the other MKs for the letter.

“We at Ben & Jerry’s Israel will continue to sell throughout the country and to all Israelis!” Ben & Jerry’s Israel tweeted.

אנחנו נמשיך לייצר את טעם הגלידה האהובה בייצור כחול-לבן לכל הישראלים בכל רחבי ישראל - ולא נפסיק לעמוד איתן ולהגן על הצרכן הישראלי מול מתקפות אנטי ישראליות.
— Ben & Jerry's Israel (@BenJerrysIsrael) July 23, 2021

Golan and the five Labor MKs later rescinded their signatures, because Ben-Ari added a line about Judea and Samaria in the English version of the letter that was not in the Hebrew version they signed.