Israeli lawmakers urge Ben & Jerry's to drop settlement ban

Three-quarters of the members of the Israeli parliament have called on Ben & Jerry’s to reverse its decision to stop selling ice cream in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem

JERUSALEM -- Three-quarters of the members of the Israeli parliament on Wednesday called on Ben & Jerry's to reverse its decision to stop selling ice cream in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem. In a letter to the Vermont-based ice cream maker, the lawmakers said they were “standing together against the shameful actions” of the company. They called the decision “immoral and regrettable,” claimed it would hurt hundreds of Jewish and Arab workers and violated an Israeli law banning boycotts of the settlements. The letter was signed by 90 of the Knesset's 120 members spanning almost the entire political spectrum. Arab parties and some dovish lawmakers refused to sign.