Ben & Jerry's Proposes Clearwater Shop As DeSantis Rebukes Stance

CLEARWATER, FL — Just days after announcing plans to open a shop in Clearwater, national purveyor of all-natural gourmet ice cream, Ben & Jerry's, is in the hot seat with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over its stance on Palestine.

On Thursday, DeSantis called on the State Board of Administration to place Ben & Jerry's on its list of companies boycotting Israel that will no longer receive any financial benefits from the state.

"As you know, Florida has long had a strong relationship with the state of Israel," DeSantis said in a letter to Ash Williams, executive director of the SBA. "As a matter of law and principle, the state of Florida does not tolerate discrimination against the state of Israel or the Israeli people, including boycotts and divestments targeting Israel."

Ben & Jerry's is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever, a publicly traded company with multiple Florida investments.

DeSantis ordered the SBA to place both Ben & Jerry's and Unilever on the state's list of businesses that discriminate against Israel after the Vermont-based company announced plans to remove products and prohibit the sale of its ice cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

On Monday, Ben & Jerry's issued a news release announcing plans to stop sales in areas occupied by Israel including the West Bank, contested east Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.

"We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory," the company said in a statement, noting that it has informed its licensee that manufactures and distributes Ben & Jerry's in Israel that it will not be renewing its license agreement, which expires at the end of 2022.

The company added, however, that it will stay in Israel "through a different arrangement." The news release didn't elaborate on that arrangement.

In his letter, DeSantis said, if Ben & Jerry's continues with its planned boycott, the SBA will have to stop acquiring "any and all Unilever assets" in accordance with state statutes.

Florida is among 36 states that have passed laws or have executive orders that forbid companies from participating in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to penalize Israel economically for its actions against Palestine.

DeSantis' censure comes just after Ben & Jerry's filed plans with the city of Clearwater to open a shop in a 2,560-square-foot former Subway shop at 409 Mandalay Ave.

The company has set up a Ben & Jerry's Clearwater Instagram page and is inviting people to apply for positions at the proposed Clearwater shop.

In April, Ben & Jerry's announced plans to open a shop in Midtown Tampa, a 1.8 million-square-foot mixed-used development in the Westshore area off Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa that's currently under construction. Bromley Companies, developer of Midtown Tampa, said Ben & Jerry's plans to build a state-of-the-art indoor-outdoor open-air design ice cream shop with interactive games and a custom mural.

Currently, Ben & Jerry's has ice cream shops in Sarasota, Orlando, Kissimmee, Melbourne, Miami Beach, Hallandale Beach, Miramar, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, Key West, Naples, Coral Springs and Miami Lakes.

However, nearly all of Florida's grocery store chains carry Ben & Jerry's products.

In an interview with Harvard Business Review, Christopher Miller, head of global activism strategy for Ben & Jerry's, said the company believes it's vital for national corporations to use their platforms to be social advocates and communicate the company's values.

"When things happen, we have this privilege, power and ability to communicate," he said.

As such, Ben & Jerry's issued a statement condemning the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, describing it a "failed coup" and calling for President Donald Trump's impeachment.

And following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020, Ben & Jerry's issued a blistering statement on discrimination in the U.S. titled, "We Must Dismantle White Supremacy."

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