Page 27 - Issue 30

HDNA ARE SIGNATORIES ON A LETTER SENT TO
GOVERNERS IN THE USA REQUESTING FROM THEM TO
DESIST FROM USING BDS LEGISLATION IN THEIR STATES
WHICH WOULD ALLOW THEM TO SANCTION UNILEVER
OVER BEN AND JERRY’S DECISION TO STOP SELLING ITS
ICE CREAM OVER THE GREEN LINE.

July 26, 2021

Dear Governor,

We are US pro-Israel organizations representing hundreds of
thousands of Jewish Americans, including thousands of Jewish
clergy, and other supporters of Israel in the United States. As
advocates for Israel and a future in which it thrives as the
democratic homeland of the Jewish people, we oppose calls to take
legal action against Ben & Jerry’s or its parent company Unilever in
response to its decision to no longer sell ice cream in occupied
Palestinian territory.

A number of opponents of Ben & Jerry’s decision have incorrectly
labeled it a boycott of Israel, delegitimization of Israel, or an
endorsement of the global BDS movement. We are especially
dismayed that some have degraded the discussion around the issue
by calling the move antisemitic, a dehumanization of the Jewish
people, and even an act of terrorism. Such discourse not only clouds
the facts, but is extremely polarizing, deeply painful to many Jews
and harms the fight against the growing tide of actual, deadly hatred
that our community faces worldwide.

None of our organizations endorse boycotts of Israel or support the
global BDS movement — and many of us actively advocate against
them. At the same time, like Ben & Jerry’s, we make a clear