[ ]J Street [ ]
J Streeters,

I’m a simple guy with simple likes and dislikes.

I’m a huge fan of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Anything with chocolate.

I’ve had a lifelong love affair with Israel. My family’s from there. I’ve
lived there. I’m proud of so much of what the country has accomplished.

And I can’t stand the occupation. It's just not right for Israel to rule
over millions of Palestinians without full rights while it moves its own
citizens onto land that one day must and should become the state of the
Palestinian people.

My fondest hope is that Israel will be a secure, just, democratic national
home for the Jewish people, something it can never be if it permanently
holds the territory it occupied in 1967 without providing the people who
live there with full and equal rights.

So when Ben & Jerry’s says it wants to sell ice cream in Israel but not in
the settlements, that seems -- to me -- a rational and principled, even
pro-Israel, position.

[ [link removed] ]Click here to say American officials should protect -- not punish --
Ben & Jerry’s right to differentiate between Israel and the territory it
occupies.

I’m blown away by the overreaction of those calling this decision
“antisemitic.” Antisemitism is brutal and real. My family lost lives
because of it. Jews around the world fear it on a daily basis.

Calling this decision “antisemitic” is absurd; in fact, it undermines and
trivializes the critical fight against real antisemitism around the world.

And it’s equally inconceivable to me that people are calling for the
company to face governmental retaliation for this decision.

J Street and I oppose the Global BDS Movement, which doesn’t recognize the
state of Israel or the Jewish people’s right to a national homeland. But
when a company says it will do business in Israel -- that’s not a boycott
of Israel. 

Friend, the over-the-top response to this decision (you might
call it a 'meltdown’) is unwarrented and harmful.

Ben & Jerry’s decision is a legitimate, peaceful protest against the
systemic injustice of occupation and a reminder that the settlements are,
in fact, illegal under international law.

It’s a line in the sand between Israel and the occupation that ought to
make sense to the overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans who support a
two-state solution and oppose settlement expansion.

Our work at J Street is to make sure that the voice of this majority is
heard loud and clear in moments like this.

[ [link removed] ]That’s why we’d be grateful if you added your name to our petition.

And, by the way, if you’re going to buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, try my
two favorite flavors together: Netflix & Chilled combined with Chunky
Monkey.

Thank you for all you do,

Jeremy

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street


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© 2021 J Street | [ [link removed] ]www.jstreet.org | [email protected]

J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans who want
Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the Jewish people.
Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we advocate policies that
advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish and democratic values,
leading to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



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