H eadlines
Locals Mostly Oppose Ben & Jerry’s Decision
L OCA L
JARRAD SAFFREN | JE STAFF
Against Don Sable of Elkins Park
promised to boycott all Ben
& Jerry’s products moving
forward. Sable called the
company’s actions “despicable
and antisemitic.”
“The boycott of not selling
their ice cream across the Green
Line is a statement that Muslims
and Christians can live on both
sides of the Green Line, but Jews
are not to be afforded the same
rights,” Sable said.

Sable further explained that
if company founders Ben Cohen
and Jerry Greenfield — who
no longer own the company,
but expressed support for the
decision — cared about peace in
the Middle East, they wouldn’t
be supporting the “Arab
Palestinian rejectionism” of
M LE
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OP G
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BEN & JERRY’S DECISION
to no longer sell ice cream in
what the company referred to
as the “Occupied Palestinian
Territory” sparked a social
media firestorm and backlash
from Israeli leaders — and has
some local ramifications as well.

Local Ben & Jerry’s franchises,
who are self-sufficient besides
the brand, did not wish to follow
their parent company into the
geopolitical fray. Managers and
owners expressed a desire to just
sell ice cream.

But Jewish consumers in
the Philadelphia area were
more than happy to share their
thoughts. Some supported Ben
& Jerry’s decision. Most did not.

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Israel that dates to the United
Nations’ partition plan in 1947.

He concluded that Ben & Jerry’s
is playing right into the hands
of Palestinian leaders, who
perpetuate their victimhood
cycle to generate sympathy
from political progressives.

“As long as they keep saying
no to peace, money from around
the world keeps coming in and
they get to enjoy playing the
victim,” Sable said. “Through
their boycott, Ben & Jerry’s has
also shown support for that ridic-
ulous situation and paradigm.”
Brian Smith of Philadelphia
called the ice cream compa-
ny’s actions “cowardly” and
“ignorant.” He said he never
bought the ice cream in the
past and never would even
consider doing so now.

Smith explained that Cohen
and Greenfield were drinking
the “antisemitic Kool-Aid
propounded daily by the
Associated Press.” For Smith,
this amounted to two primary
falsehoods: That Palestine, which
is still not recognized as a state by
many major countries, including
the U.S., has territories and that
Israel is occupying them.

“Perhaps we should see if
Ben or Jerry starts hawking
free copies of ‘The Protocols
of the Elders of Zion,’ with
every five pints purchased?”
Smith concluded, referring to
the false and antisemitic book
describing a plan for Jewish
world domination.

Gail Schwartz of Philadelphia
and Marc Ullman of Galloway,
New Jersey, said they would take
it a step further than boycot-
ting Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Ben & Jerry’s is now owned
by Unilever, the multinational
consumer goods company.

Unilever owns hundreds
of popular brands, including
Dove, Hellmann’s and Lipton.

Schwartz and Ullman will no
longer use any of those products.

Ullman loved Ben & Jerry’s
before. He would always stack
his freezer with the company’s
wacky flavors for the Shabbat
dinners that he hosted with his
wife. His wife loves Hellmann’s
mayonnaise and refuses to use
any other brand.

Now, though, they will have
to find new products.

“I hate it,” Ullman said.

But, he added, “anti-
Zionism is antisemitism.”
Schwartz said that Unilever
could at least salvage its other
brands by dissociating from
Ben & Jerry’s.

“I will continue to boycott
Ben & Jerry’s and all Unilever
brands as long as Unilever
refuses to dissociate itself with
B&J’s horrendous decision,”
she concluded.

For Sara Atkins is an Orthodox
Jew who lives in Penn Wynne.

She is also a supporter of Israel.

But she is sticking with her
favorite ice cream brand.

“This has been overblown,”
she said. “The company has a
right to sell where they want to
sell and not to sell where they
don’t want to sell.”
Atkins also said that it’s
inaccurate to compare this
decision to the boycott, sanctions
and divestment movement. Ben
& Jerry’s is, after all, still selling
ice cream in Israel, just not in
those territories.

Finally, she explained that the
company has taken progressive
stances in public in the past, too.

Ben & Jerry’s publicly opposed
former President Donald
Trump and supported same-sex
marriage and climate activism,
among other stances.

“I’ve always known where
the company was politically, and
it’s never stopped me before,”
Atkins said.

Perhaps more importantly,
though, Atkins just loves the
company’s flavors, like Karamel
Sutra Core and Netflix and
Chilll’d. “It’s still the best ice cream
on the market,” she said. l
jsaffren@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



Pointing Toward
the Future
A Letter to the Jewish Community of Greater Philadelphia
Like many legacy nonprofits, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia has long rested
on the assumption that our deep communal roots were strong enough to last the test of time.

However, with changes taking place all around, in philanthropic trends, an explosion of options
in personalized philanthropy, technology altering how individuals connect and with the Jewish
community, these assumptions no longer hold.

Twenty-first century Jewry requires inspired thinking rather than rote learning. It requires an
awareness of the elements that make Jewish living joyful rather than obligatory. The Jewish
Federation must be relevant, meaningful to those involved, trustworthy, and transparent.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia will become a high performing, cutting-edge,
twenty-first-century organization. I am honored to have been chosen to lead this charge.

As President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, I am committed to
fostering an environment where we celebrate and acknowledge all of our skills and cultivate an
environment for growth. All of our colleagues must have clarity on our goals and the role each of us
plays in achieving them. Finally, our culture must be one that fosters the utmost of respect, builds
trust, ensures a safe workplace and embraces everyone’s unique talents, diversity, and perspectives.

To meet these challenges, needs, and opportunities, the Jewish Federation will rededicate itself
with a new strategic focus. To do so, we will soon embark on creating Jewish Federation’s first
strategic plan in over a decade. I am pleased to announce that Ben Kirshner and Mark Fishman will
lead this committee that will represent the diverse geographic and demographic characteristics as
well as, thoughts and opinions of our stakeholders. We expect to get started in the next few weeks
with this vital task.

The strategic plan will realign and restructure how the Jewish Federation conducts its business
internally and how it relates to its historic funding partners. This plan will inform the Jewish
Federation’s operating values, staffing structure, its decision-making processes, volunteer and
donor engagement strategies, and choices for how we work to impact the community. We are
committed to taking additional steps to be even more inclusive of the rich diversity of our staff
and the Jewish community at large in terms of differing backgrounds, experiences, interests,
challenges, etc. We will welcome feedback so we can listen, learn, and grow.

The Jewish Federation has stood firmly for more than 120 years. Today we will not waiver.

We will stand together and move this organization forward. I am excited for our future and
can’t wait to see what we will achieve together.

Michael Balaban,
President & CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
ceo@jewishphilly.org JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
JEWISH EXPONENT
AUGUST 5, 2021
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