TEL AVIV – Ben & Jerry’s controversial decision to release a new anti-Trump flavor in collaboration with, among others, Women’s March leader Linda Sarsour, has prompted the company’s Israel franchise, which is owned independently, to distance itself from the ice cream giant.
The limited edition flavor, entitled Pecan Resist, “supports groups creating a more just and equitable nation for us all, and who are fighting President Trump’s regressive agenda,” the American company said in a statement Tuesday.
Proceeds from the new flavor will go to four groups, including Women’s March, whose leaders are rabidly anti-Israel. Linda Sarsour, who was pictured in a tweet with the company’s eponymous founders, has in the past accused Israel of “apartheid” and shared a stage with Palestinian terrorist Rasmea Odeh. Another Women’s March leader, Tamika Mallory, recently accused Israel of committing a “human rights crime” when the state was established by “killing, stealing” and “taking the lives of people who were there first.” Mallory is an ardent supporter of virulently antisemitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
On Wednesday, Ben & Jerry’s Israel arm distanced itself from the move.
“Ben & Jerry’s Israel is an independent and Israeli company,” it wrote on Facebook, noting that all of its products and ingredients are manufactured and sourced locally.
“We have no connection to the decisions made by the global brand, and we don’t get involved in local or world politics.”
The company said that it would not be selling “Pecan Resist” and will “continue to work and act for the community and for Israeli society.”