6 | JULY 29 • 2021 

1942 - 2021

Covering and Connecting 
Jewish Detroit Every Week

To make a donation to the 
DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 
FOUNDATION
go to the website
www.djnfoundation.org

The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) 

is published every Thursday at 

32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, 

Farmington Hills, Michigan. Periodical 

postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and 

additional mailing offices. 

Postmaster: send changes to: 

Detroit Jewish News, 

32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, 

Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334

MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish 
News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish 
people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel.

VISION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will operate to appeal to the broadest segments of the greater 
Detroit Jewish community, reflecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the 
morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity.

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205,
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
248-354-6060
thejewishnews.com

Publisher
The Detroit Jewish 
News Foundation

| Board of Directors:
 Chair: Gary Torgow
 Vice President: David Kramer 
 Secretary: Robin Axelrod
 Treasurer: Max Berlin
 Board members: Larry Jackier, 
 Jeffrey Schlussel, Mark Zausmer
 
 
 Senior Advisor to the Board: 
 Mark Davidoff
 Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair: 
 Mike Smith
 Founding President & Publisher Emeritus: 
 Arthur Horwitz
 Founding Publisher 
 Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory

 
 
 

| Editorial 
 DIrector of Editorial: 
 Jackie Headapohl
jheadapohl@thejewishnews.com
Associate Editor: 
David Sachs
dsachs@thejewishnews.com
Social Media and Digital Producer:
Nathan Vicar
nvicar@thejewishnews.com
Staff Reporter: Danny Schwartz 
dschwartz@thejewishnews.com
Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello
smanello@thejewishnews.com
Senior Columnist: Danny Raskin
dannyraskin2132@gmail.com

Contributing Writers:
Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne 
Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Shari S. 
Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Louis 
Finkelman, Stacy Gittleman, Esther 
Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer 
Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, 
Robin Schwartz, Mike Smith, Steve Stein, 
Ashley Zlatopolsky

| Advertising Sales 
Director of Advertising: Keith Farber
kfarber@thejewishnews.com
Senior Account Executive: 
Kathy Harvey-Mitton
kmitton@thejewishnews.com 

| Business Office
 Director of Operations: Amy Gill
 agill@thejewishnews.com
 Operations Manager: Andrea Gusho 
 agusho@thejewishnews.com
 Operations Assistant: Ashlee Szabo 
 Circulation: Danielle Smith
 Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner

| Production By 
 Farago & Associates
 Manager: Scott Drzewiecki 
 Designers: Kelly Kosek, Kaitlyn Schoen, 
 Michelle Sheridan 
 

analysis
Ben & Jerry’s Alarming Boycott
Crosses A Dangerous Line
A

fter months of bit-
ter disagreements, it 
was shocking to see 
Benjamin Netanyahu finally 
agree with the rival who took 
over his beloved 
throne, Prime 
Minister Naftali 
Bennett. But some 
issues simply go 
too far, and Ben 
& Jerry’s decision 
to stop selling 
its ice cream 
in “Occupied Palestinian 
Territories” was one of those.
“Now we Israelis know which 
ice cream NOT to buy,
” tweeted 
Netanyahu. Bennett, according 
to his office, “made it clear that 
he views with utmost gravity the 
decision by Ben & Jerry’s to boy-
cott Israel, and added that this is 

a subsidiary of Unilever, which 
has taken a clearly anti-Israel 
step.
”
This temporary rapproche-
ment between political foes is 
consistent with much of the 

Jewish world. How do we explain 
such widespread distaste for the 
Ben & Jerry’s decision?
I see two key factors, both 
having little to do with parti-
san politics. First, the decision 

clarified the true mission of the 
BDS movement — to push for a 
boycott of all of Israel. The move-
ment’s reaction to the announce-
ment made that clear, calling for 
ending all sales and operations 

in “
Apartheid Israel.
” If there’s 
one thing most Jews agree with, 
it is that boycotting Israel proper 
(pre-1967 borders) is out of line.
What’s more, Ben & Jerry’s 
is coming dangerously close to 

doing just that. Unlike previous 
companies subjected to boycotts, 
such as SodaStream, Ben & 
Jerry’s makes its ice cream inside 
Israel proper. It doesn’t even 
operate any ice cream stores over 
the 1967 lines; all it does is sell 
to individuals or vendors such as 
supermarkets and gas stations.
By targeting sales to the West 
Bank — rather than exports of 
settler products — Ben & Jerry’s 
is setting an alarming precedent.
There’s even confusion about 
whether Ben & Jerry’s will still 
sell its products inside Israel, as 
was initially suggested by parent 
company Unilever, which may 
have spoken too soon. In any 
case, as reported in the Jerusalem 
Post, the boycott criteria already 
set by Ben & Jerry’s “would make 
any Israeli or foreign company 

PURELY COMMENTARY

continued on page 9

David Suissa
JNS.org

ROBERT ALEXANDER/GETTY IMAGES VIA JTA

