On Unilever’s Hellman’s mayonnaise jar is a question: “Something to tell us?”
Well, YES! We called the number and found out that Unilever has designated a separate phone line (407-734-3032) to receive calls about the decision by Ben & Jerry’s to boycott 800,000 Jews in Israel who live in 140 different communities in Judea and Samaria.
According to Yifa Segal, chief of staff for the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. and former director of the International Legal Forum, this means that, de facto, their products will not be sold in Israel—all of Israel—not just in Judea and Samaria. No similar announcement has ever been made by Ben & Jerry’s about any other country or region in the entire world where they allow their products to be sold (including human rights violators Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia and China). Ben & Jerry’s products can be found everywhere, but they will no longer be in Israel.
Unilever has complete legal control over its Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream subsidiary despite its claim to have relinquished policy control over to the founders of Ben & Jerry’s.
It is critical that Unilever hears from us. This was our message:
“We love Hellman’s mayonnaise and Dove soap but it’s getting harder and harder to purchase these items knowing that Unilever has not reversed the decision by Ben & Jerry’s to boycott Jewish communities in Israel or divested itself from this antisemitic, terrorist-sympathizing company. Unilever’s refusal to act means that it is complicit in corporate antisemitism. The Holocaust began with boycotts against Jews based on lies.”
Our voices need to be louder than the chorus that is calling for companies to stop doing business with Israel. Registering a complaint against corporate antisemitism has never been easier. Please call Unilever at 407-734-3032 and urge everyone on your lists to do the same.
Our silence is not an option.
Lynne Bursky-Tammam and Nessim TammamYom Hashoah Mobilization Committee