Tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice cream with the Fair Trade logo on sale in a shop in the UK. The company was bought by Unilever in a $326m deal in 2000. Reuters
Tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice cream with the Fair Trade logo on sale in a shop in the UK. The company was bought by Unilever in a $326m deal in 2000. Reuters
Tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice cream with the Fair Trade logo on sale in a shop in the UK. The company was bought by Unilever in a $326m deal in 2000. Reuters
Tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice cream with the Fair Trade logo on sale in a shop in the UK. The company was bought by Unilever in a $326m deal in 2000. Reuters

Israel warns Unilever of 'serious consequences' from Ben & Jerry's withdrawal


  • English
  • Arabic

Israel's new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned UK-based consumer goods giant Unilever that it faced "serious consequences" after the Ben & Jerry's ice cream brand it owns said it is pulling out of the occupied Palestinian territories.

Mr Bennett said he had spoken to Unilever's chief executive Alan Jope about the "glaring anti-Israel measure" taken by the ice cream maker.

"From Israel's standpoint, this action has severe consequences, legal and otherwise, and it will move aggressively against any boycott measure targeting civilians," Mr Bennett told Unilever's boss, according to a statement from his office sent to the Reuters news agency.

In a tweet on Monday evening, Mr Bennett described Ben & Jerry's decision as morally wrong and a business mistake after the company said it will stop selling its products in occupied Palestinian territories as doing so is "inconsistent" with its brand values.

The Vermont, US, brand which was built on ethical values and whose products are marked with the Fair Trade logo, has faced pressure from Palestinian rights groups to stop selling its products in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

"We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory," a company statement released on Monday, said.

It added that it did not plan to renew an existing agreement with a licensee who manufactures its product when it expires at the end of next year, but that it would continue to sell ice cream in Israel "through a different agreement".

Unilever, which bought Ben & Jerry's in a $326 million deal back in 2000, said that as part of its acquisition agreement with the brand it recognised the right of its independent board "to take decisions about its social mission".

"We also welcome the fact that Ben & Jerry's will stay in Israel," the company added, saying it was also fully committed to its presence in the country.

However, the chair of Ben & Jerry's independent board, Anurudha Mittal, told the NBC news network that the statement issued on its behalf was not approved by its board of directors.

"It is stunning that they can say that [it will remain in Israel] when the statement was put out without the approval of the board," she said. “This is not about Israel. It is about the violation of the acquisition agreement that maintained the soul of the company.”

A new relationship with the old country

Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates

The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.

ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.

ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.

DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.

Signed

Geoffrey Arthur  Sheikh Zayed

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

Fast%20X
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Louis%20Leterrier%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vin%20Diesel%2C%20Michelle%20Rodriguez%2C%20Jason%20Statham%2C%20Tyrese%20Gibson%2C%20Ludacris%2C%20Jason%20Momoa%2C%20John%20Cena%2C%20Jordana%20Brewster%2C%20Nathalie%20Emmanuel%2C%20Sung%20Kang%2C%20Brie%20Larson%2C%20Helen%20Mirren%20and%20Charlize%20Theron%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
CHELSEA'S NEXT FIVE GAMES

Mar 10: Norwich(A)

Mar 13: Newcastle(H)

Mar 16: Lille(A)

Mar 19: Middlesbrough(A)

Apr 2: Brentford(H)

MATCH INFO

Fulham 0

Aston Villa 3 (Grealish 4', Hourihane 15', Mings 48')

Man of the match: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)

Updated: July 20, 2021, 1:05 PM`