No Cherry Garcia in Samaria & Judea: Ben & Jerry’s Pulls Plug on West Bank Sales

Ben & Jerry’s announcement on Monday, that from the year 2023, its products would no longer be sold in the Palestinian territories, has left some filled with “AmazeMint” and “Moo-phoria,” while others think the idea is “Half Baked.” Dispelling rumors that the company plans to stop doing business in Israel altogether, Ben & Jerry’s insists that, though it will not renew its contract with the local manufacturer, its products will still be available “through a different arrangement.” After some Israelis called for an immediate boycott of the boycotter, others said this would unfairly punish the Israeli manufacturer, which defied the ice cream giant’s demand that it stop distributing its products in Israeli settlements. Ben & Jerry’s says selling ice cream in the disputed territory is “inconsistent with our values.” It’s unclear whether those values allow it to market its creamy desserts in Crimea, Kashmir, Nagorno-Karabakh, Northern Cyprus, Western Sahara, or any number of other disputed and occupied lands. What is clear is that the Unilever conglomerate, which owns Ben & Jerry’s, has no plans to stop selling numerous products, including ice cream under a different brand name, throughout the West Bank.