Letter to Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce - Sen. Rick Scott calls on Department of Commerce to launch probe into Ben & Jerry's over Israel ban

Letter

Dear Secretary Raimondo:
I am writing to you in light of the decision by Ben & Jerry's, an American
company which is wholly owned by Unilever, to participate in a foreign boycott,
banning sales of its ice cream in portions of Israel. I am extremely concerned with Ben &
Jerry's anti-Semitic actions, and as the Office of Antiboycott Compliance is under your
jurisdiction, I am calling on the Department of Commerce to initiate an investigation
into whether or not Ben & Jerry's recent decision violates the Export Administration Act
of 1969.

Ben & Jerry's operates in Israel through a licensee, an Israeli company that has
distributed ice cream throughout the country since 1987 and operates one of its few
foreign manufacturing facilities. In addition to the manufacturing facility, the licensee
allows Ben & Jerry's to operate two scoop shops and distribute ice cream to be sold in
stores throughout the country, including in Judea and Samaria. The licensing agreement
expires in December 2022, and its parent company, Unilever, has opted to not renew the
agreement on the grounds that doing so is "inconsistent with [their] values" and
because of "concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners."

According to the Chairman of the Board for Ben & Jerry's, the Board had been
pushing to withdraw ice cream sales from the region for years.2 They also charge that
the statement published on July 19th "regarding its operation in Israel and the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (the OPT) does not reflect the position of the independent board,
nor was it approved by the independent board."3 Further, Ben & Jerry's independent board of directors passed a resolution to end sales of Ben & Jerry's products in Israeli settlements in July 2020.

This appears to be the first such decision by Ben & Jerry's to boycott sales to a
foreign country, meaning the Jewish State is the company's first target. Given the
pressure that Ben & Jerry's faced from outside organizations, particularly those
involved in the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement, including Vermonters
for Palestinian Justice5 and SumOfUs6, there is reason to believe that Ben & Jerry's
intent is to comply with an unsanctioned foreign boycott.

I am urging you to launch an investigation to determine if Ben & Jerry's or
Unilever has violated the Export Administration Act. Such boycotts of foreign countries
are in violation of statute and horribly anti-Semitic. They have no place in the United
States, and in conjunction with the Office of Antiboycott Compliance and the
Department of Justice, I ask that you determine if these entities are violating statute,
and if so, to hold them fully accountable.

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