The Israeli-American Council (IAC) flew a banner over Ben & Jerry’s Burlington, Vermont-based factory and global headquarters on Friday, reading “Serve Ice Cream, Not Hate,” the social media hashtag #BDSisHATE, along with the American and Israeli flags.
(BDS stands for Boycott, Divest and Sanctions.)
The move comes as part of a campaign the IAC launched Monday that demands Ben & Jerry’s stop their boycott of part of the Israeli population.
The flyover kicked off a global advocacy effort that also features a social media campaign urging consumers to call on Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company, Unilever, not to align with the BDS economic war on Israel, and to renew the ice cream maker’s license with its Israeli manufacturer.
In recent months the IAC has become one of the leading American-Jewish organizations in mobilizing the community against antisemitism and anti-Zionism across the United States.
“Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop selling its ice cream to certain Israeli populations is a disgraceful surrender to the BDS hate movement, which promotes a culture of fear and violence and seeks to eliminate the Jewish homeland – the only democracy in the Middle East,” the IAC said in a statement.
“Unilever should rid itself of this discriminatory and morally wrong act, stand by its corporate values and refocus its Ben & Jerry’s brand on serving ice cream and not hate. We urge Unilever to discard this shameful decision, end this boycott and invest instead in peace and prosperity through dialogue.”