Ben & Jerry’s may lose kosher certification due to boycott

“We are hopeful that Ben & Jerry’s will reverse their decision and that there will be some sort of resolution,” said Kof-K’s chief operation officer.

By World Israel News Staff

Ben & Jerry’s could lose its kosher certification from the Kof-K kosher agency if it carries out its plan to boycott Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, The Jerusalem Post reported Friday.

“We have told Ben & Jerry’s that we do not know if we will be able to renew our contract,” Rabbi Daniel Senter, chief operating officer of the American-based Kof-K that provides kosher international certification, told the Post.

Senter told the Post that Kof-K can break the contract only if the company is found to have violated the laws of kashrut.

“Our concern is Ben & Jerry’s [pending] action of withdrawing distribution of products in Judea and Samaria,” Senter told the Post. “We are hopeful that Ben & Jerry’s will reverse their decision and that there will be some sort of resolution.”

The current certification expires in 2022.

Meanwhile, Kof-K “is living up to its side of the contract,” Senter said.

Removing the certification is a process, he explained, and would require a decision by its rabbinic board.

Regarding the decision, the Post added, Senter and his brother Ari, the agency’s senior rabbinic coordinator, visited Israel last week on a trip organized by Yigal Dilmoni, CEO of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization of the Jewish communities of Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.

They met with Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana as well as with Dilmoni and Avi Zimmerman, president of the Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce, according to the Post.