The New York Post reported Wednesday that a Palestinian human rights activist, Bassem Eid (pictured), has filed a complaint in New York that alleges Ben & Jerry’s boycott of Israel‘s “occupied territories” only increases strife in the region, rather than promoting peace.
From the report by Isabel Vincent:
“I, as a Palestinian, as well as many of my friends, family and other Palestinians, are regular shoppers at Gush Etzion commercial center … where we also frequent to eat ice cream,” said Eid in the complaint. Eid is a resident of Jericho in the West Bank.
“This shopping area is the true realization of coexistence, as both Jews and Muslims from both Israel and the Palestinian-controlled territories … work and shop here,” he said.
Eid likened the boycott to the controversial Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which many Jews have criticized as anti-Semitic. The complaint was filed under New York state’s Lisa Law that prevents New York businesses from engaging in anti-Israel boycott activity, said David Abrams, the New York-based attorney who filed the complaint on Eid’s behalf.
Eid called the promoters of BDS “gangters,” adding: “If they poured all of the money they are spending on boycotts into building factories and creating jobs in the West Bank and Gaza, it would go a long way to truly helping Palestinians.”
