Signers Remorse: 6 MKs Take Names Off Ben & Jerry’s Protest Letter

Six of the ninety members of Knesset who signed a letter urging Unilever to force Ben & Jerry’s to rescind its decision to terminates sales in Yehuda and Shomron withdrew their support on Wednesday, according to The Times of Israel.

Meretz MK Yair Golan and Labor MKs Naama Lazimi, Efrat Rayten, Gilad Kariv, Ram Shefa and Emilie Moatti were the MKs who disavowed the letter.

“Labor and Meretz have a clear policy, the core of which is a separation from the Palestinians and a two-state solution,” tweeted Moatti. “The final version of the letter (which was not presented to me) does not represent my diplomatic position.”

“I understood that the letter does not represent my position,” Golan tweeted after he signed. The Meretz MK said he objected to the description of communities in Yehuda and Shomron as “towns and cities in Israel,” and asked to have his signature removed.

The letter addressed to the parent company Unilever’s CEO Alan Jope, which was organized by Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben-Ari, states: “This decision to boycott towns and cities in Israel as well as the company’s attempt to force this boycott practice immediately on the Israeli manufacturer is an immoral and regrettable decision that harms all residents of Judea and Samaria, as well as hundreds of Israeli workers, Jews and Arabs alike.”

Unilever has sought to distance itself from the decision. On Tuesday, the company reiterated its opposition to the BDS movement, and noted that the ice cream company contractually has the freedom to make decisions on its “social mission.”

In a letter to the Anti-Defamation League and other U.S. Jewish groups, Jope said that Unilever “rejects completely and repudiates unequivocally any forms of discrimination or intolerance. Antisemitism has no place in any society. We have never expressed any support for the BDS movement and have no intention of changing that position.”