By: Elad Benari
Ben & Jerry’s was sued on Thursday by its longtime Israeli ice cream manufacturer, Avi Zinger, who says the company illegally severed their 34-year relationship after halting sales in Judea and Samaria, Reuters reports.
Israel National News reported that Zinger said Ben & Jerry’s refused to renew the license for his American Quality Products Ltd. because he would not abide by the company’s decision to stop selling its products in Judea and Samaria and parts of eastern Jerusalem.
The New York Post reported that Avi Zinger “filed his suit in federal court in Newark, NJ, which alleges Ben & Jerry’s refused to renew the license with his American Quality Products firm to manufacture and distribute their ice cream in Israel because he refused to stop selling the pints of creamy treats in the Israeli-controlled West Bank and parts of contested East Jerusalem. Unilever is headquartered in New Jersey.”
Ben & Jerry’s and its parent, Unilever, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Thursday’s complaint says that Ben & Jerry’s had “repeatedly promised” Zinger it would renew its license with his 169-employee company beyond its scheduled December 31, 2022 expiration, but caved to pressure from Israel’s opponents.
“For 34 years I have had a strong and incredibly positive working relationship with Ben & Jerry’s, manufacturing and selling its ice cream in all parts of Israel, to Israelis and Palestinians. I refused Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever illegal demands, and as a result, they are threatening to close my business, affecting hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian workers and distributors,” Zinger said in a press release on his suit.
The Post reported that he called Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever’s actions “misguided, unlawful and immoral.”
“Shame on Unilever for its wrongful attempt to boycott the state of Israel. There is still time to do the right thing. Renew my license and leave ice cream out of the political debate,” Zinger said.
His lawsuit seeks an injunction maintaining the status quo until the case is resolved, plus unspecified damages, according to the INN report.
“Unilever’s unlawful action is detrimental not only to Avi Zinger and his company, but also to Avi’s employees; his Palestinian distributors and suppliers; and the general public,” said Alyza Lewin, president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and one of the lawyers representing the plaintiff, as was reported by INN.
Unilever caused an uproar with its controversial July 19 announcement that it will stop selling the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Judea and Samaria.
INN reported that following that announcement, Zinger, whose company operates out of Be’er Tuvia, stressed that Ben & Jerry’s Israel is not boycotting any part of Israel.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s who sold their company to Unilever years ago, have insisted that the decision by Unilever to stop selling the ice cream in Judea and Samaria is not a boycott of Israel.
In the months following the ice cream maker’s July 2021 announcement, multiple states divested from Unilever, including New York, Florida, New Jersey, Arizona, Texas and, most recently, Iowa, according to the INN report.
(Sources: INN & the NYP)
