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Settlement talks between ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company Unilever reportedly broke down over the weekend as the parties failed to reach an agreement over the distribution of Ben & Jerry’s products in eastern Jerusalem and Jewish communities in the West Bank.
Last July, Ben & Jerry’s — which has an independent board — published a statement saying that, starting in 2023, it would boycott Israelis in what it called “occupied Palestinian territory.” The move was widely condemned in Israel and abroad, with Jerusalem’s Foreign Ministry urging US states to activate their anti-BDS laws to punish Unilever.
Then, on June 29, 2022, following litigation in US federal court, Unilever sold off its Ben & Jerry’s Israeli business interests to Avi Zinger, allowing him to continue selling the ice cream in all territories under Jerusalem’s control. “I now have the right to sell Ben & Jerry’s using its Hebrew and Arabic name to all our Israeli and Arab customers throughout Israel and the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) — forever,” Zinger explained at the time.
In response, the Vermont-based ice cream makers filed a civil suit in the US Southern District Court of New York, stressing again that they “continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerry’s values for our ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The firm’s lawyers insist that Unilever did not have the right to enter into the agreement with Avi Zinger.
Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever currently remain at an impasse, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, in what will likely bring the dispute back to the court for a judge to decide. However, the source said the two sides may still try and reach an understanding on their own.
During mediation attempts, Unilever CEO Alan Jope insisted that Ben & Jerry’s “long-term future” is “squarely as part of Unilever,” Reuters reported. “There is plenty for Ben & Jerry’s to get their teeth into in their social justice mission without straying into geopolitics,” the report quoted him as saying.
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Two propaganda channels on Telegram linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp recently threatened the United States, saying that the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missiles have the capability of “turning New York into hellish ruins.”
A video titled, ‘When Will Iran’s Sleeping Nuclear Warheads Awaken,’ confirmed that Iran is on the threshold of a nuclear breakout and declared that Tehran will begin building nuclear bombs “if the US or the Zionist regime [Israel] make any stupid mistakes.”
Iran is currently enriching up to 60% purity using advanced centrifuges at its underground Fordow plant, which is considered a short technical step away from the 90% purity required for weapons-grade uranium.
In related news, Tehran’s Intelligence Ministry on Saturday announced that agents had arrested on suspicion of espionage a Swedish national who previously traveled to Israel. The ministry claimed that the suspect “was in touch with several other figures in Iran, and has visited Israel, Iran’s foe.”
The report followed the Swedish government’s announcement in May that one of its citizens was detained in Iran. It was not immediately clear whether Iran’s statement was referring to the same individual or another Swedish national.
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Palestinian terror groups have called on members of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces to carry out attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians in the West Bank. The call came after a PA officer opened fire at a military position near Nablus last week.
A spokesman for the US-designated Hamas terror group lauded the officer who carried out the shooting and encouraged all members of the PA police to follow suit and “clash with the occupation forces and settlers to defend our people and our land.”
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), also listed by Washington as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, called on the PA leadership in Ramallah to turn thousands of its security officers into a “protective shield for our people against settler attacks and a deterrence force against the IDF.”
Earlier this month, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) exposed that Mahmoud Abbas’ security forces, in cooperation with the ruling Fatah party, offer “military training” to children from the age of seven and up. A video posted to a Fatah Facebook page explained that, in the “army camp,” kids “wear soldiers’ uniforms, eat their food, and are trained in military order and discipline.'”
“Our battle with the sons of dogs [i.e., Israelis] is long, and we need a young generation,” the video said, while showing minors disassembling and assembling weapons. Through chants, young participants of the PA camps are taught to admire Dalal Mughrabi, the PLO terrorist who led one of the most deadly terror attacks against Israeli citizens, a 1978 bus hijacking in which armed Palestinians slaughtered 38 Israelis, including 13 children.
Notably, the Palestinian Authority Security Forces were trained and funded by the United States.
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Ignoring pleas by Jewish leaders, a US auction house this weekend hosted a sale of Nazi paraphernalia, including a gold watch that purportedly belonged to Adolf Hitler.
On Thursday, over 30 members of the Brussels-based European Jewish Association (EJA) had signed an open letter calling on Maryland-based Alexander Historical Auctions to cancel the auction.
“This auction, whether unwittingly or not, is doing two things: One, giving succor to those who idealize what the Nazi party stood for. Two: Offering buyers the chance to titillate a guest or loved one with an item belonging to a genocidal murderer and his supporters,” explained EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, adding: “The sale of these items is an abhorrence.”
“There is little to no intrinsic historical value to the vast bulk of the lots on display. Indeed, one can only question the motivation of those buying them,” the letter continued. “Whilst it is obvious that the lessons of history need to be learned — and legitimate Nazi artifacts do belong in museums or places of higher learning — the items that you are selling clearly do not.”
Bill Panagopulos, president of Alexander Historical Auctions, dismissed the criticism as “nonsense and sensationalism.” His organization previously auctioned off the personal diaries of notorious Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.
The auction house said that Hitler’s Huber watch — adorned with a swastika, the German Imperial Eagle and the initials AH — was sold for $1.1 million to an anonymous buyer.
Bidders also fought for possession of an item listed as Hitler’s candy dish, which sold for $2,750; a dog collar for Eva Braun’s Scottish Terrier, which sold for $4,500; Hitler’s beer serving tray, which sold for $750; his personal stationery, which sold for $650; his champagne glass, which sold for $900, as well as several other objects used by the Nazi leader and his wife.
Recommended Reading
- Israeli Military Halts F-35 Training Flights Over Faulty Ejector Seats (Emanuel Fabian, Times of Israel)
- British TV Channel Breaks Rules on Airing Antisemitic Content (Faygie Holt, Jewish News Syndicate)
- NBA Player, Human Rights Activist Enes Kanter Freedom to Host Basketball Camp in Israel (Maayan Hoffman, All Israel News)
- IDF Opens All Units to Ultra-Orthodox Soldiers (Hanan Greenwood, Israel Hayom)
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