See what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.
The ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s has lost its legal battle to prevent its products from being sold by its parent company in Israeli settlements, which it believes would damage its credibility and undermine the company’s social mission.
A federal judge Monday rejected a Ben & Jerry’s request to block a plan by its parent company Unilever to sell its products in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, against the wishes of the independent board of directors of the Vermont- ice maker. .
US District Court Andrew Carter said Ben & Jerry’s has not shown that the decision by London-based consumer goods conglomerate Unilever would harm Ben and Jerry’s social mission or confuse its customers.
In his three-page decision, Carter said the damages claimed by Ben & Jerry’s was “too speculative.”
BEN & JERRY’S Sues Parent Company UNILEVER TO STOP SALE OF ITS ISRAEL BUSINESS
A Ben & Jerry’s employee scoops ice cream into a cone outside Union Station in Washington. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
“Products sold in Israel and the West Bank will not use English trademarks, but instead display new Ben & Jerry’s trademarks in Hebrew and Arabic,” the decision said. “Thus, the products sold in Israel and the West Bank will be different from other Ben & Jerry’s products, reducing, if not eliminating, the possibility of reputational damage.”
Last year, Ben & Jerry’s independent board of directors said it would stop selling ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and disputed East Jerusalem, arguing it would be “inconsistent with our values” because of opposition from the company opposes Israeli government policies that some have associated with the BDS movement.
BUSINESS OWNER BEN & JERRY’S IN THE VIEW OF THE ISRAEL GOVERNMENT, CONGRESS MEMBERS
In an interview last year, Ben & Jerry’s co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield struggled to explain why they oppose the sale of products in Israel over political differences, but do business in areas of the United States where they disagree. be with laws and policies.
A refrigerator bearing the Ben & Jerry’s logo is on display at a food store in the Jewish settlement of Efrat in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on July 20, 2021. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)
“It’s an interesting question. I don’t know what that would accomplish. We’re working on those issues, of voting rights,” Cohen said when asked why the company sells products in states where it is against election integrity laws. ‘I don’t know. I think you are asking a very good question. And I think I should sit down and think about it for a while.’
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS
Ben & Jerry’s spokesperson Sean Greenwood said on Monday that the company “does not have a new position for us at this time.”
Associated Press contributed to this report
#Judge #rules #Ben #Jerrys #attempt #remove #products #Israeli #shelves