Bergen County-Based Ben & Jerry's Parent Company Faces Backlash

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ — Ben and Jerry's and its Englewood Cliffs-based parent company, Unilever, are under fire after the ice cream company released a statement this week saying it would no longer sell products in the area of "Occupied Palestinian Territory."

Israeli leaders are now asking for states such as New Jersey to sanction both companies, in accordance with so-called BDS laws ("boycott, divestment and sanctions") that have been passed in many states to push back against this type of boycott, according to Northjersey.com.

A New Jersey law passed five years ago, for example, calls for the state to pull its pension fund investments from companies that boycott Israel.

“The Division of Investment is aware of the situation and is working to determine whether any actions must be taken to ensure continued compliance with the state’s anti-BDS law," Jennifer Sciortino, director of communications for the state Treasury, told the Northjersey.com.

In another statement, press secretary Alyana Alfaro Post said Gov. Phil Murphy "was disappointed in the decision by Ben and Jerry’s," according to the publication.

The effects of the boycott may have effects locally, as Unilever is a major employer in New Jersey, with 1,600 workers at its 321,000-square-foot facility in Englewood-Cliffs, according to the company's website.

READ MORE: Teaneck Store Won't Carry Ben & Jerry's After Israel Decision

Since the announcement, a number of vendors — including New Jersey's Glatt Express, a kosher supermarket in Teaneck — have said they would stop selling Ben and Jerry's products, even if that meant covering the costs of the inventory they already have.

"I thought this was an antisemitic statement about the evil situation in the Middle East," the owner of the store, Dani Secemski, told CNN. However, he did say that he'd begin selling and carrying the products again if "they can reverse their decision."

Morton Williams — which has 15 stores in New York City and one in Jersey City — was the biggest supermarket to take the ice cream off its shelves, according to the New York Post.

Here is the full statement from Ben and Jerry's, issued on July 19:

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.

Although Ben & Jerry's will no longer be sold in the OPT, we will stay in Israel through a different arrangement. We will share an update on this as soon as we're ready.

Additional reporting by Montana Samuels