H eadlines
Ben & Jerry’s
Founders Deny
Antisemitism NATIONAL
SHIRA HANAU | JTA.ORG
IN AN INTERVIEW that aired
on HBO, both of the founders
of the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
brand reiterated that they stand
behind the company’s decision
to stop selling their products in
the West Bank.

But for Jerry Greenfield,
being accused of antisemitism
is “painful.” For Ben Cohen, it’s
“absurd.” “I think Ben & Jerry’s and
Unilever are being character-
ized as boycotting Israel, which
is not the case at all. It’s not
boycotting Israel in any way,”
Greenfield said in an interview
with Axios that aired on its
HBO show Sunday night.

The Jewish duo, who
founded the company in 1978,
are no longer its owners, but
they remain the most recog-
nizable public faces of the
company. They had previ-
ously defended the West Bank
decision in a New York Times
op-ed shortly after the move
took place in July, but the Axios
interview gave them a chance
to expound on the human side
of the aftermath.

“I understand people being
upset, it’s a very emotional
issue for a lot of people and I
totally understand it, and it’s
a very painful issue for a lot of
people,” Greenfield said.

They were also asked how
it felt to be “wrapped up in
accusations of antisemitism.”
“Totally fine,” Cohen said,
laughing. “It’s absurd. What,
I’m anti-Jewish? I’m a Jew! All
my family is Jewish, my friends
are Jewish.”
Ben & Jerry’s had long been
engaged in social issues when it
decided to pull its product from
the West Bank, after months of
pressure from pro-Palestinian
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM activists in the wake of Israel’s
latest armed conflict with
Gaza. The decision prompted
calls to boycott Ben & Jerry’s
and its parent company
Unilever, along with accusa-
tions of antisemitism from
some pro-Israel activists.

The state of Arizona divested
nearly $200 million from
Unilever in September, and
several other states have since
reviewed their investments in
the conglomerate.

Unilever has also said in
public statements that it does
not believe Ben & Jerry’s is
boycotting the state of Israel,
and that it plans to keep selling
within the borders Israel estab-
lished after the Six-Day War
in 1967. However, Israeli law
outlaws business that boycotts
the West Bank, so it remains to
be seen whether the company
will be allowed to follow
through with its plan.

When asked why Ben &
Jerry’s continues to sell its ice
cream in states with policies
that are not in line with Cohen
and Greenfield’s values —
such as Texas, where access to
abortion is now limited, and
Georgia, where voting rights
have been curtailed — Cohen
did not have an answer.

“I don’t know. I mean it’s
an interesting question, I don’t
know what that would accom-
plish, we’re working on those
issues of voting rights and ...

I don’t know. I think you ask
a really good question, and I
think I’d have to sit down and
think about it for a bit,” Cohen
said. Greenfield suggested that
the answer had to do with
international law.

“One thing that’s different
is that what Israel is doing is
considered illegal by interna-
tional law, so I think that’s a
consideration,” Greenfield said. l
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