Five US states take aim at Ben & Jerry’s over settlement boycott

[Valin]

Times of Israel

Officials in Florida, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Illinois reviewing whether move requires divestment from parent company Unilever under their various state laws

JTA and Jacob Magid

24 July 2021

Five US states have begun examining whether Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop selling its ice cream in Israeli settlements triggered laws passed in recent years to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

Officials in Florida, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Illinois are reviewing whether the move will require divestment from Ben & Jerry’s parent company Unilever under their various state laws.

There are 34 states in total that require their governments to stop doing business with companies that boycott Israel — and 21 of those explicitly include West Bank settlement boycotts in their definitions.

Of those 21 states, 12 are required to remove companies that engage in boycotts from state employee retirement investment funds — an action that experts say is far more damaging than simply ending contracts with a company for its goods and services.

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