Ben & Jerry’s announced that it will stop selling ice cream in the occupied Palestinian territories after a slew of fans slammed the company for doing business in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
The brand said that their business in Israel does not align with their socially conscious values.
In 2015, Ben & Jerry’s posted that they were “keenly aware of how complex the local market can be” in response to a rise in Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
In June 2020, the Vermont-based company posted a statement about investing their money “in community-driven solutions that foster real health, peacekeeping and safety.”
The company’s license in Israel will expire in 2022, meaning their ice cream will no longer be sold in Palestinian territories after then.
But, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream will still be sold in Israel “through a different arrangement,” according to the company.
Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s minister of interior, tweeted in response to the ice cream brand’s decision: “Your ice cream is not in line with our taste. We will manage without you.”
