We are aware about the Unilever announcement. We are not in agreement with the Unilever announcement by our parent company. (1/3)
Israel celebrated the victory as part of its ongoing campaign against the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. BDS seeks to put economic pressure on Israel for its military occupation in the lands that the Palestinians desire to become a state.
Unilever stated in its statement that it doesn't support the BDS movement. Unilever stated that it is proud of Israel's business, which employs approximately 2,000 people and has four production plants.
Avi Zinger, owner of Israel's American Quality Products Ltd., purchased the business from Unilever. He had sued Unilever in March in a U.S. Federal Court over the termination of their business relationship.
Zinger's legal team stated that Unilever's decision was part of a settlement. Zinger thanked Unilever and its legal team for resolving the issue and for taking a strong and principled stand against BDS. Zinger stated that there is no place to discriminate in the commercial sale ice cream.
However, the rapid reaction to the new agreement was swift.
Israel thanked the US governors for their support in its campaign against BDS and hailed the decision. Unilever had consulted its Foreign Ministry throughout this process, according to the company.
Foreign Minister Yair Lepid stated that "Antisemitism won't defeat us, even when it comes down to ice cream." "We will fight delegitimization of the BDS campaign in all arenas, whether it is in the public square, the economic sphere, or the moral realm."
BDS, a umbrella group that is supported by almost all of Palestinian civil societies, describes itself as a peaceful protest movement, modeled after the South African boycott campaign. It doesn't adopt an official position regarding the Israeli-Palestinian war, and officially rejects antisemitism.
Israel considers BDS an attack on its legitimacy partly because of the extreme views of some of its supporters. Israel also points out the support of the group for a right to return millions of Palestinian refugees -- which would mean the end of Israel's Jewish-majority status -- and the refusal of BDS leaders to endorse a two state solution.
The majority of the international community considers the settlements a violation international law. Because they absorb and divide the land upon which a future Palestinian state will be established, the Palestinians view them as the biggest obstacle to peace. Every Israeli government has increased settlements, even during the peak of the peace process in 1990s.
