The backlash against Ben & Jerry’s continues here in the United States with GOP Sen. James Lankford calling on Oklahoma to ban its sale under provisions of the state’s “anti-boycott of Israel law”:
#Benandjerrys has now decided they know more about Jerusalem than the Israelis. If Ben & Jerry’s wants to have a meltdown & boycott Israel, OK is ready to respond. Oklahoma has an anti-boycott of Israel law in place
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) July 21, 2021
He added, “We should immediately block the sale of all #Benandjerrys in the state and in any state-operated facility to align with our law”:
We should immediately block the sale of all #Benandjerrys in the state and in any state-operated facility to align with our law.
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) July 21, 2021
And on the other end of the political spectrum, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a personal boycott of the product:
DE BLASIO CALLS OUT BEN & JERRY'S: NYC Mayor de Blasio suggested he will join efforts to boycott @benandjerrys
“I can say I will not be eating anymore Cherry Garcia for a while." pic.twitter.com/xSBG7ajK9J
— VINnews (@VINNews) July 20, 2021
We’re seeing reports of local supermarkets stopping the sale of it as well:
Our local kosher supermarket in Silver Spring MD just dropped Ben & Jerry’s too. pic.twitter.com/nS3nrzPFWP
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) July 20, 2021
Even worse? The distributor of Ben & Jerry’s will now have to fire Palestinian workers because of the decision:
The distributor for Ben & Jerry's beyond the Green Line says he's going to have to fire his Palestinian workers, who have pay and benefits parity with their Israeli counterparts, and earn way above Palestinian Authority salaries. But people in Portland were happy so ¯_(ツ)_/¯
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) July 20, 2021
Whoops:
Here's the link. To be clear – he isn't firing them. He's basically saying he'll be forced to if the boycott means he can't distribute to settlements anymore since it's such a big chunk of his business. https://t.co/xxNPaK2JBR
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) July 20, 2021
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