Israel’s envoy to US asks American states to use anti-BDS laws against Ben & Jerry’s
Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Israel’s Ambassador to the US and UN Gilad Erdan has sent letters to the governors of 35 American states that have anti-BDS laws, asking them to act against Ben & Jerry’s decision for ending sales in illegal settlements in the West Bank and the eastern part of Jerusalem.
“I urged them to act against Ben & Jerry’s decision to not sell its products in the eastern part of Jerusalem and Judea & Samaria. We will make clear to Ben & Jerry’s that its antisemitic decision will have consequences,” Erdan tweeted.
In coordination w/ @yairlapid, I sent a letter to 35 Governors of US states that have legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/tGW720oRZL
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) July 20, 2021
On Monday, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid also vowed to ask the American states to take legal action against the ice cream company.
“Over 30 states in the United States have passed anti-BDS legislation in recent years”, Lapid tweeted. “I plan on asking each of them to enforce these laws against Ben & Jerry’s. They will not treat the State of Israel like this without a response.”
Over 30 states in the United States have passed anti-BDS legislation in recent years. I plan on asking each of them to enforce these laws against Ben & Jerry's. They will not treat the State of Israel like this without a response.
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid🟠 (@yairlapid) July 19, 2021
Lapid also called Ben & Jerry’s decision as a “shameful surrender to antisemitism, to BDS and to all that is wrong with the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish discourse.
Israel’s new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also spoke with the head of Unilever, which owns Ben & Jerry’s, and asked him to take a “very serious view of the decision by Ben & Jerry’s to boycott Israel.”
Bennett stressed that Israel sees the measure as having “serious legal and other implications” and added that the Jewish state “will act vigorously against any act of boycott directed against its citizens.”
The Well-known American firm announced today that it will no longer sell its products for settlements in the West Bank and the eastern part of Jerusalem.
Ben & Jerry’s will end sales of our ice cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Read our full statement: https://t.co/2mGWYGN4GA pic.twitter.com/kFeu7aXOf3
— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) July 19, 2021
The firm, known for its progressive activities, has been silent on social media since last May, when ‘Israel’ were bombarding the besieged Gaza strip, killing over 250 Palestinians, most of them were children and women.
The company said in a statement on its website “it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).”
