Free Republic

Unilever distances itself from BDS, announces new deal to allow sale of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to Israelis in Judea and Samaria. British consumer goods giant Unilever announced Wednesday the end of an anti-Israel ice cream boycott that drew heavy criticism, triggered sanctions by some US states, and even provoked a lawsuit.

The owner of Ben & Jerry’s is angling to block an Israeli ice-cream distributor from knocking off its brand in the West Bank — the latest back-and-forth since the company’s controversial move last month to withdraw from the region, The Post has learned. London-based Unilever — whose Ben & Jerry’s subsidiary announced on July 19 it would stop selling ice cream in “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” saying it’s “inconsistent with our values” — is now threatening legal action against a group that said it plans to roll out “Judea and Samaria’s Ben & Jerry’s” ice cream to the West Bank. A...

Ben & Jerry’s brought in vocal Israel critic and anti-Zionist author Peter Beinart to talk to its store owners about Israel’s "illegal occupation" earlier this week, after franchisees raised concerns about the company’s boycott of the Jewish state. On the conference call with Ben & Jerry’s franchisees and store managers, Beinart argued that Israel is illegally occupying territory that it seized from Jordan in an offensive war in 1967 and claimed that the Jewish state sends soldiers into Palestinian villages to abduct minors, according to a source familiar with the content of the call. The company’s decision to invite Beinart—an...

We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners. We have a longstanding partnership with our licensee, who manufactures Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region. We have been working to change this, and so we have informed our licensee that we will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year.

The Twitter account of Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont-based ice cream company founded by Jewish businessmen Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, has been uncharacteristically silent for nearly a month after being relentlessly attacked for doing business in Israel, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported. Ben & Jerry’s, which maintains a production facility and offices south of Tel Aviv, was tweeting almost daily until May 18 when the company posted an advertisement for its new Thick Mint ice cream flavor and was flooded with negative responses. “Love mint but hate being complicit in ethnic cleansing and apartheid, so I won’t be...

PHILADELPHIA – Over five hundred activists have pledged to risk arrest by engaging in nonviolent mass civil disobedience at the Democratic National Convention here in Philadelphia between Monday and Thursday, according to Kai Newkirk, mission director for the Democracy Spring activist group. During an in-person interview outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in downtown Philadelphia, Newkirk revealed that, besides street protests, activists from his group will attempt to infiltrate and disrupt this week’s DNC events from the inside. Democracy Spring claims it is a movement attempting to “end the corruption of big money in politics and guarantee the right to vote...

Ben & Jerry's Celebrates Gay Marriage Vote In Its Own, Unique Way Company renames one of its best-selling ice creams, as Apple boss Tim Cook hails a 'victory for equality, perseverance and love' By Andrew Trotman Ben & Jerry's has renamed one of its best-selling ice creams to mark America's decision to make gay marriage legal. The US dairy giant has changed the name of its iconic Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream to "I Dough, I Dough", and designed a special commemorative tub. It follows the Supreme Court's ruling that gay marriage should be allowed across the entire US,...

Since when does serving up junk food give someone a license to preach? Politics and all things fried, fatty and fast are becoming intertwined to the point of absurdity. We’ve got the Papa John’s pizza guys weighing in on the health-care debate, while the burger slingers out west at In-N-Out can’t serve up a cheeseburger without a Bible verse. The craziness of fast-food commentary on social issues became obvious to me when I stumbled into a totally earnest discussion at a party last week by a bunch of Washingtonians who personally support the right to same-sex marriage, but are also...

Ben & Jerry's latest ice cream creation -- "Schweddy Balls" -- doesn't agree with the tastes of at least one national conservative group. "The vulgar new flavor has turned something as innocent as ice cream into something repulsive," read a statement released by One Million Moms, a division of the Mississippi-based American Family Association. "Not exactly what you want a child asking for at the supermarket."

Lately there have been rumors that cow farts cause more problems to our eco-system, it turns out that the cow belches are actually worse. Ben & Jerry’s has decided to help out with this issue...

Our mission is to change America's budget priorities to reflect a national commitment to education, healthcare, energy independence, job training and deficit reduction -- at no additional taxpayer expense -- by shifting funding from obsolete Cold War and nuclear weapons New Hampshire Business Leaders Click here to join the 20 business leaders who have joined our campaign -- and here to see who already has NH Democrats endorse the Common Sense Budget Act A resolution endorsing the Common Sense Budget Act was approved without discussion by the 700 delegates at the NH Democratic Party convention at Saint Anselm College. Our...

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama, the U.S. Senate candidate from Chicago who has become the Democratic Party's latest rising star, is drawing enough support from the entertainment industry to put on his own variety show. From comedian Chris Rock to singer Barbra Streisand to musician Herbert Hancock, entertainers have written out checks of $1,000 or $2,000 to help the 42-year-old Illinois state senator win the seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. Film directors Rob Reiner ("The American President") and Edward Zwick ("The Last Samurai" and "Courage Under Fire") both contributed in the past three months, according to Obama's...

You may know some despicable characters, but are they mean enough to apply for this job posting? ENEMY WANTED. Serious enemy needed to justify Pentagon budget increase. Defense contractors desperate. Interested enemies send letter and photo or video (threatening, OK) to Enemy Search Committee, Priorities Campaign, 1350 Broadway, NY, NY, 10018. ... I am distributing a job description as widely as possible to help our politicians find the enemy they seek. Even with the help of defense contractors – who spend $50 million on lobbyists annually – our politicians do not possess the creativity to find the right adversary. It's...

If it turns out there was an Al Qaeda/Iraq connection, it would be great to be prepared with celebrity quotes denying that connection.Here are two from Sarandon and Streisand.Sarandon plans to act up before State of the Union WASHINGTON - Just before President Bush delivers his State of the Union address tonight, activist actress Susan Sarandon plans to upstage him. "Before our kids start coming home from Iraq in body bags and women and children start dying in Baghdad, I need to know, 'What did Iraq do to us?'" the 56-year-old New Yorker asks in a 30-second television spot that...

Ben & Jerry's Release New Wartime Flavors By Corey Pieratt Phrawd BSNN.net Headline News LARDASS, VERMONT – Ben and Jerry, everyone's favorite wartime profiteers, announced today that five new fantastic flavors will make their debut in an all-new socially conscious marketing scheme to kick off the company's Peacenik Pops™ line. "Consumers will find the bitter taste and political hypocrisy they love and expect from Ben & Jerry's," said Ms. Holly Wood, Director of Peacenik Marketing and Wartime Profiteering. "Our flavor developers have really outdone themselves this time."  The Peacenik Pops™ flavors are: Ramsberry Clark: Named in honor of Ben and...