Thread by @JeremyBenAmi

I’m a simple guy with simple likes and dislikes. Huge fan of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (anything chocolate). I’ve had a lifelong love affair with Israel. And I also can’t stand the occupation #Thread🧵 1/12

My family’s from Israel. I’ve lived there. I’m proud of so much of what the country has accomplished. 2/12

But it's just not right for Israel to rule over millions of Palestinians without full rights while it moves its own citizens onto land that one day must and should become the state of the Palestinian people. 3/12

My fondest hope is that Israel will be a secure, just, democratic national home for the Jewish people. But it can never be this if it permanently holds the territory it occupied in 1967 without providing the people who live there with full and equal rights. 4/12

So when Ben & Jerry’s says it wants to sell ice cream in Israel but not in the settlements, that seems, to me, to be a rational and principled and even pro-Israel, position. 5/12

Pause for a quick advertisement – if you’d like to add your name to our petition listing people who are *not* going into meltdown over the Ben & Jerry’s decision, add your name here to show that not everyone is outraged by this. 6/12

act.jstreet.org/sign/protect-b…

I’m honestly blown away by the overreaction of those calling this decision “antisemitic.” Antisemitism is brutal and real. My family lost lives because of it. Jews around the world fear it on a daily basis. 7/12

Calling this “antisemitic” is absurd. It undermines and trivializes the important fight against the very real increase in antisemitism, white nationalism and ethnonationalism. It’s also inconceivable to me that people are calling for B&J's to face governmental retaliation. 8/12

Both J Street and I oppose the Global BDS Movement, which doesn’t recognize the state of Israel or the Jewish people’s right to a national homeland. But when a company says it will continue to do business in Israel, that’s no boycott. 9/12

So that’s how I see it. The over-the-top response to this decision is unwarranted and harmful. B&J’s decision is a legitimate, peaceful protest against the systemic injustice of occupation and a reminder that the settlements are, in fact, illegal under international law. 10/12

It’s a line in the sand between Israel and the occupation that ought to make sense to the overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans who support a two-state solution and oppose settlement expansion (polls linked). 11/12 jstreet.org/polling/

At @jstreetdotorg, our work is to make sure that the voice of this majority is heard loud and clear. That’s why we’d be extremely grateful if you could take a moment to add your name to our petition and amplify our more ‘chill’ response. 12/12

act.jstreet.org/sign/protect-b…

P.S. If you’re going to buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, try my two favorite flavors together: Netflix & Chilled combined with Chunky Monkey.