Mario M. Kranjac, mayor of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and the town where the Unilever US headquarters is located, urged the company to reverse their decision on boycotting the sales of Ben & Jerry's ice cream in the West Bank, the Jewish Journal reported on Monday.
Mario M. Kranjac, mayor of Englewood Cliffs, NJ, where Unilever's US headquarters are located, urges Unilever to "reconsider" Ben & Jerry's Israel decision, calls Israel "one of the most democratic and free countries in the world” and “a beacon of freedom in the Middle East." pic.twitter.com/ULdsDZKG7l
— Aaron Bandler (@bandlersbanter) August 9, 2021
In his statement to the company, Kranjac wrote that the move by the ice cream brand was "disturbing" and a "violation of New Jersey's anti-BDS laws."
He voiced his concern at the company's stance on Israel, while also stating that they continue to "support and profit from other countries and movements that daily commit substantial human rights violations."
In response, the Unilever CEO, Alan Jope, said to the Englewood Cliffs mayor that the company "still opposes the BDS movement and that they still have a longstanding commitment to [their] business in Israel" according to another report by the Jewish Journal on Wednesday.
Jope also explicitly said that the company is opposed to all forms of discrimination.
Last month, the Ben & Jerry's board chair, Anuradha Mittal, stated that she "is not antisemitic," following accusations that the company's Israel stance was a form of bigotry against Jews.
In a statement to the Jewish Journal, Kanjac stated that the response from the Unilever CEO was "corporate drivel" and that "they know they’ve made a mistake by discriminating against parts of Israel."
Previously, like Kranjac, Florida governor Ron DeSantis warned Unilever of its policies regarding the Jewish state, saying that the state of Florida will not invest any funds in the company unless they reverse the decision to stop selling ice cream in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
In addition, other US states such as Texas and Rhode Island are reportedly looking into withdrawing their investments from Unilever over the boycott.
Ben Sales/JTA contributed to this report.