Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry'sצילום: רויטרס

An online petition to boycott Ben & Jerry’s ice cream after it announced it was ending all sales in Judea and Samaria has garnered over 3,000 signatures in 16 hours.

The Coalition for Jewish Values petition on change.org states, “We, the undersigned, condemn Ben & Jerry’s decision to end sales in Judea and Samaria, two areas that have been continuously in the possession of the Jewish people for nearly 4,000 years – since Abraham purchased the Cave of the Patriarchs.”

Remarking that Ben & Jerry’s decision to cave to the BDS movement by ending all sales in Judea and Samaria would serve to embolden anti-Jewish hate worldwide, the petition says that “the company’s decision will perpetuate malicious, ahistorical notions and fuel what is already rampant Jew-hatred in the United States and around the world.”

It adds, “In response to Ben & Jerry’s decision to participate in an anti-Semitic boycott, we refuse to purchase any of the company’s products until it abandons this inhuman policy.”

As of Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. EST, the petition had received over 3,000 signatures in 16 hours.

“An Ice Cream company should be focused on making children of all backgrounds joyful. Not in the establishment nor reinforcement of systemic discrimination against children from a particular area or background; according to a selected and intolerant view,” said Rabbi Professor Alan Friedlander, one of the signers of the petition.

On Monday, Ben & Jerry's announced: "Ben & Jerry’s will end sales of our ice cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

In a statement, the ice cream company said, "We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners."

Yesha Council chairman Yigal Dilmoni said: "The global Ben & Jerrys company did not withstand the anti-Semitic pressure of the BDS organizations. I call on our friends, the friends of Judea and Samaria in the United States, to put economic pressure on them by taking their products out of stores until they back down from this unfortunate decision."