The state of Texas announced on Thursday that it has officially added Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company Unilever to the state’s “list of companies that boycott Israel.”
“This action was undertaken pursuant to Texas Government Code Chapter 808, which defines ‘boycott Israel’ as ‘refusing to deal with, terminating business activities with, or otherwise taking any action that is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on or limit commercial relations specifically with Israel or with a person or entity doing business in Israel or in an Israeli-controlled territory,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar (R) stated.
“Texas law is clear on this issue, and my office has long supported Israel through our Israel bond holdings as well as our lists of scrutinized companies with ties to Iran and those with ties to foreign terrorist organizations.”
Unilever has 90 days to “change its ways” and if it fails to do so during that time, Texas will pull its $100 million of state pensions funds invested in Unilever.
Earlier this month, Arizona was the first state to officially divest from Unilever, and New Jersey and Florida are both on track to do so as well. The states of New York, Illinois, Maryland, and Rhode Island have also initiated the formal process of carrying out a review of Unilever that will likely end in divesting from the company.
Source: (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)