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Jul 19, 2021
punishing Unilever
MK Moshe Arbel (Shas) has put out a statement in light of the Ben & Jerry's recent announcement to not renew the license of the current manufacturer in Israel and to stop selling in the Occupied Territories.
Arbel is calling on the various mehadrin kashrut certifiers to withdraw certification from all Unilever products, the parent company of Ben & Jerry's, sold in Israel.
This would be a big blow to Unilever, but why stop at mehadrin certifications? Why not call on the Rabbanut to withdraw certification as well?
I also want to know if Unilever is going to stop selling all their products in the "Occupied Territories" or just Ben & Jerry's? And if just B&J, why is that product different than all the others they sell?
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I don't think the Rabbanut is free to refuse certification.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't B&J's actions violate the BDS law? Maybe they should just be shut down in Israel, period.
ReplyDeleteI saw a news blurb of some politician 9mabe Bennett, maybe Lapid, dont remember) that said they are going to look into fighting this legally based on anti-BDS laws in many states of the USA
Deletehttps://www.algemeiner.com/2021/07/19/ben-jerrys-to-end-ice-cream-sales-in-west-bank/
ReplyDeleteUnilever, in a separate statement, said it remains “fully committed” to its presence in Israel. It said it has always recognized Ben & Jerry’s right “to take decisions about its social mission”.
“We also welcome the fact that Ben & Jerry’s will stay in Israel,” Unilever said.
...
Ben & Jerry’s was acquired by Unilever in 2000 in a unique deal that allows it to operate with more autonomy than other subsidiaries.
It uses that independence to pursue a cultural and social mission that has recently included strongly supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBTQ+ rights and electoral campaign finance reform.
I'm not sure punishing Unilever is wise here as it seems to not be their fault. But a boycott of Ben and Jerry's is not a bad idea.
sounds like a complicated arrangement
DeleteNot Ben & Jerry's Israel which is a franchise that operates out of Be'er Tuvia and employs about 400 Israels both Jewish and Arab. A stategy to affect B &J in the US would be more effective. Not just to try to enforce the US anti-BDS laws but perhaps to get big customers to withdraw their contracts like Glatt Express did and to get Americans to express support by not buying.
DeleteLegally the Rabbanut is not allowed to assess anything but the kashrut of a product when giving certification, they cannot take political views or other factors into consideration.
ReplyDeleteThis came up a few years ago when Jerusalem Rabbinate was forced to stop their policy of denying kashrut to hotels that had a Xmas Tree, as the Xmas tree had nothing to do with the kashrut of the food, by law they could not withhold certification based on that.
Similarly about 3 years ago there was a call on the Rabbinate to withdraw kashrut on chickens based on the way they were treated when shipped to the slaughterhouse, but the Rabbinate said that they could not use this as a factor in determining whether a product was kosher, unless the transportation methods caused a lot of traifot because of the way they were handled.
They also cannot withhold certification because of a lack of modesty in an establishment or activities taking place which they do not approve of, unless they can prove (in court) that it is directly related to the kashrut of the food.