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Nov 18, 2021
Palestinian sues Ben & Jerrys
A prominent Palestinian human rights activist recently filed a complaint in New York state, charging that a Ben & Jerry’s boycott in the West Bank and occupied territories is contributing to “more hatred” in the strife-prone region.
Bassem Eid, 63, filed a complaint with New York state’s Division of Human Rights last month against Conopco Inc., the US division of Unilever that owns the popular ice cream brand.
Eid, a longtime activist who has been critical of abuses by both Israeli armed forces and the Palestinian Authority in the past, claimed the restriction on sales of ice cream in Israeli-occupied territories is “counterproductive to peace and creates only more hatred, enmity and polarization,” according to the complaint.
An award-winning human rights activist who was born in East Jerusalem and grew up in a United Nations-run refugee camp, Eid said the boycott will have an adverse effect on the people it is trying to help.
That was unexpected, but the funny part of the story is actually the response of Ben & Jerry's.“I, as a Palestinian, as well as many of my friends, family and other Palestinians, are regular shoppers at Gush Etzion commercial center … where we also frequent to eat ice cream,” said Eid in the complaint. Eid is a resident of Jericho in the West Bank.
“This shopping area is the true realization of coexistence, as both Jews and Muslims from both Israel and the Palestinian-controlled territories … work and shop here,” he said.
Eid likened the boycott to the controversial Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which many Jews have criticized as anti-Semitic. The complaint was filed under New York state’s Lisa Law that prevents New York businesses from engaging in anti-Israel boycott activity, said David Abrams, the New York-based attorney who filed the complaint on Eid’s behalf.
A spokesman for Ben & Jerry’s refused comment, and referred a reporter to a page on the company’s website where it addresses the boycott. “Speaking and acting on our values is neither anti-Israel nor anti-Semitic,” the website says."speaking and acting on our values is neither anti-Israel nor anti-Semitic".
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I hope B&J looses so much over this.
ReplyDeleteWell, let's put it this way: If Ben and Jerry's "only" bans West Bank sales, all the "settlers" will still be able to buy it within Israel. The Arabs won't. So who's the boycott really targeting?
ReplyDelete