Ben & Jerry’s to end sales of ice cream in Palestinian territories

Ben & Jerry’s announced Monday it’ll stop selling ice cream in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, calling its dealings there “inconsistent with our values.”

The socially progressive ice cream giant didn’t elaborate on what led to the decision. The announcement ends the company’s two-month social media silence amid mounting criticism of its presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

“We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners,” Ben & Jerry’s said in a statement.

The Vermont-based company will continue doing business with Israel.

Ben & Jerry’s said it would end “a longstanding partnership” with the manufacturer and distributer of the popular ice cream in Israel, but that it plans to stay in the country through a “different arrangement,” according to the statement. The agreement with the manufacturer that sells Ben & Jerry’s in the occupied territories expires at the end of next year, the company said.

The development follows a series of protests against Ben & Jerry’s over its presence in the region.

Vermonters for Justice in Palestine, which has been leading the effort for seven years, said the company’s intention to leave the occupied territories “fails to address the widespread anger at the actions of the Israeli government against Palestinian people.”

“By maintaining a presence in Israel, Ben & Jerry’s continues to be complicit in the killing, imprisonment and dispossession of Palestinian people and the flaunting of international law,” activist Kathy Shapiro said in a statement.

The group called on Ben & Jerry’s to end all business in Israel and Jewish-only settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, to stop manufacturing ice cream in Israel and to issue a statement denouncing the occupation.