Israel
Ben & Jerry’s Israeli distributor sues US ice cream firm over boycott
Avi Zinger says 170 Muslim and Jewish workers will lose their jobs when his contract expires
March 3, 2022 18:56
Avi Zinger says 170 Muslim and Jewish workers will lose their jobs when his contract expires
March 3, 2022 18:56The Israeli distributor of Ben and Jerry’s is suing the American ice cream company for allegedly breaking their 34 year partnership in order to boycott Israel.
Ben and Jerry's announced last year that it would no longer sell its products in the ‘occupied Palestinian territories’, meaning the West Bank and Gaza.
Under Israeli and American law, however, it is illegal to boycott parts of Israel while continuing to sell in others, claim American Quality Products (AQP) and its owner Avi Zinger.
AQP say that when they refused Ben and Jerry's request on the ground that it would be illegal parent company Unilever ended their decades long partnership. From the end of 2022 AQP’s licensee agreement will not be renewed.
Mr Zinger and AQP are now seeking an injunction from the American courts that would enable AQP to continue manufacturing and distributing Ben & Jerry’s products in all of Israel.
Mr Zinger said: "For 34 years I have had a strong and incredibly positive working relationship with Ben & Jerry's, manufacturing and selling its ice cream in all parts of Israel, to Israelis and Palestinians.
“I refused Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever’s illegal demands, and as a result, they are threatening to close my business, affecting hundreds of Israeli and Palestinians workers and distributors.”
AQP say 170 Muslim and Jewish workers, along with Palestinian suppliers and distributors, will lose their jobs when the contract expires.
Alyza Lewin, president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, and one of the lawyers representing Zinger, said: “Unilever’s unlawful action is detrimental not only to Avi Zinger and his company, but also to Avi’s employees; his Palestinian distributors and suppliers; and the general public…
“Avi’s business makes Ben & Jerry’s available to all consumers throughout Israel – Palestinians and Israelis alike.
“Unilever is shutting all of this down, only because Avi refuses to agree to its demand that he boycott customers based on where they live – a move, which would harm Palestinian consumers most of all.”
Previously, Ben and Jerry’s decision to stop doing business in east Jerusalem and the West Bank was branded a “disgraceful capitulation” to antisemitism by Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid.
The JC has approached Unilever and Ben and Jerry's for comment.