Unilever CEO Alan Jope has replied to Jewish communal organisations after they wrote to express their concern over Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop selling in the West Bank.
In a letter to the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council, Mr Jope said Unilever remains “fully committed to our colleagues and customers in Israel, and to Jewish communities around the world.”
Last week, Claudia Mendoza of the JLC and Michael Wegier of the Board of Deputies wrote to Mr Jope, saying: “We hope you understand the concern generated by this implicit support for the BDS movement. To ensure that this not the case, we ask you to publicly confirm that Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s reject the BDS movement, and that Ben & Jerry’s reconsiders this ill-considered move.”
In his reply on Tuesday, Mr Jope said he was “reiterating Unilever’s strong and longstanding commitment to our business in Israel. We employ nearly 2,000 people in the country across our four factories and head office, and we have invested approximately €250 million in the Israeli market over the last decade. Around 85% of the products we sell in Israel are made in Israel. We look forward to investing in our business in Israel long into the future.”
Mr Jope described the decision of Ben & Jerry’s as a complex matter due to the “agreed-upon policy” that Ben & Jerry’s independent board has the right to take decisions in accordance with its social mission. He wrote: “Ben & Jerry’s has also made it clear that although the brand will not be present in the West Bank from 2023, it will remain in Israel through a different business arrangement.
“We have welcomed this decision to stay in Israel emphatically and have been seeking to handle this matter as respectfully and sensitively as possible.”
Following the announcement from the Ben & Jerry's Independent Board, we wrote to @Unilever last week together with @BoardofDeputies
— Jewish Leadership Council (@JLC_uk) July 27, 2021
We welcome Unilever's response which makes clear that they reject the BDS movement pic.twitter.com/iCX7sHeEs7
Mr Jope also said Unilever rejects all forms of discrimination and antisemitism, and it has “never expressed any support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and have no intention of changing that position.”
Responding to the letter from Mr Jope the JLC and the Board said they “welcomed Unilever's response which makes clear that they reject the BDS movement.”
