Voice of the Jewish News: It’s a rocky road
Ben & Jerry’s says it is defending its progressive values, but it might come to regret the friends it has gathered along the way, this week's editorial says
As the hottest week of the year so far steered many of us towards the supermarket freezers for a tub of ice cream, some in the Jewish community will have hesitated over the tubs of Ben & Jerry’s.
Britain’s second-favourite ice cream brand has come a long way from its humble roots in the US, where the eponymous Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield first sold their ice cream in pint-sized tubs in the 1980s.
The two Jewish entrepreneurs are progressive campaigners and their company has a history of activism on the environment and social justice. The company was a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and has donated funds to groups that raise awareness of climate change.
The pair have dabbled in politics before. They supported Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, while last year the firm criticised home secretary Priti Patel’s handling of the migrant crisis in the English Channel.
Yet the decision to pull out of West Bank settlements is a new front. Israelis take their ice cream seriously and have spawned a whole idiom – “third time, ice cream” – from its use as a social lubricant. Many will simply buy other brands because of Ben & Jerry’s political stance;
others will not change their habits.
But now that Ben & Jerry’s has decided to wade into the turbulent politics of the Middle East, the question is whether it will do the same for other global hotspots. Will it, for example, speak about human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang province, a topic about which the Jewish News has been vocal?
Ultimately, it’s deeply regrettable that a mere ice cream maker has chosen to associate itself with the brutalist arguments of BDS, the Israel boycott movement. Ben & Jerry’s says it is defending its progressive values, but it might come to regret the friends it has gathered along the way.
READ MORE:
- Kosher shops boycott Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
- Downing spoons: ice cream boycott is easier said than done
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
