Jewish organisations have railed against the company’s decision to stop selling its products in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Photo: Getty
Jewish organisations have railed against the company’s decision to stop selling its products in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Photo: Getty
Jewish organisations have railed against the company’s decision to stop selling its products in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Photo: Getty
Jewish organisations have railed against the company’s decision to stop selling its products in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Photo: Getty

Israeli envoy criticises Ben & Jerry’s founders over boycott


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Israel’s ambassador to the US has accused the founders of Ben & Jerry’s of “helping the anti-Semites” after they defended the company’s decision to not sell its ice cream in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Gilad Erdan, the envoy to the US and the UN, said the “ignorance and hypocrisy” towards Israel they had demonstrated during a television interview, broadcast on October 10 on HBO, was “an outrage”.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who sold the company to Unilever plc in 2000, said they are not against “Israel’s right to exist”, they just “didn’t want our ice cream sold in the occupied territory”.

“Part of the definition of anti-Semitism is precisely to demand from Israel what is not demanded of any other entity in the world,” Mr Erdan said on Monday.

“Ben and Jerry have no problem with their ice cream being sold to supporters of terrorism, and yet they are boycotting Israel.”

Mr Cohen and Mr Greenfield, who no longer have an operational role at Ben & Jerry’s, have noted that they are themselves Jewish. In the Axios on HBO interview, Mr Cohen said the idea that they are anti-Semitic was “absurd”.

Ben & Jerry’s said the co-founders had no comment on Mr Erdan’s statement.

The Vermont-based company announced in July that it would stop selling its products in Jewish West Bank settlements and areas of east Jerusalem by the end of 2022.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Unilever the “blatantly anti-Israel” decision would have “serious repercussions, legal and otherwise”.

“I will continue to act so that as many countries as possible will include Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever on their blacklist, until this despicable boycott is ended,” Mr Erdan said.

Since July, US states including New Jersey, Texas and Florida have taken steps to divest from the company.

Unilever stock is down about 13 per cent this year.

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

EA Sports FC 26

Publisher: EA Sports

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: 3/5

Company%20Profile
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The specs

Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm

Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)

On sale: Now

The 12 breakaway clubs

England

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur

Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus

Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid

Ways to control drones

Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.

"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.

New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.

It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.

The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.

The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.

Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday

Second leg

Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm

Game is on BeIN Sports

Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world

New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.

The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.

Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.

“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.

"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."

Aston martin DBX specs

Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: nine-speed automatic

Power: 542bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Top speed: 291kph

Price: Dh848,000

On sale: Q2, 2020
 

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

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Updated: October 12, 2021, 4:59 PM