Arizona State Treasurer Announces Divestment of all State Funds from Ben & Jerry’s

Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee announced on Tuesday that Arizona “will not allow taxpayer dollars to go towards anti-Semitic, discriminatory efforts against Israel,” thereby divesting nearly $140 million invested in Unilever — the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s.

This comes after NLPC filed a complaint with the IRS alleging the Chair of the Board of Directors of Ben & Jerry’s, Anuradha Mittal, had a conflict of interest and possible illegal involvement in money that went from the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation to a charity Mittal founded and takes a salary from — the Oakland Institute.

In a letter sent to Unilever, Yee stated they were, “informing your firm that it has been identified as actively boycotting Israel due to the actions of Ben & Jerry’s, a subsidiary of Unilever, announcing it will withdraw sales from the West Bank and other territories in Israel at the end of 2022.  This would be in direct violation of Arizona Statutes 35-393.”

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Tags: anti-Semitism, Ben and Jerry's, Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, Oakland Institute