Judge rules against Ben & Jerry’s in fight over Israel sales

By WILSON RING
Associated Press

A federal judge has rejected a request by Vermont ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s to block a plan by its corporate parent to have an intermediary sell its products in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. In the decision issued Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Carter says Ben & Jerry’s failed to show that the decision by London-based consumer goods conglomerate Unilever would hurt Ben & Jerry’s progressive social mission or confuse its customers. Earlier this year, Unilever announced that it was selling its interest in Israel in the Vermont ice cream maker to its Israeli licensee, which would market Ben & Jerry’s products in east Jerusalem and the West Bank with Hebrew and Arabic labels.