Ben & Jerry’s Israel has introduced a new flavor with an unmistakably local message. Called “Milk and Honey,” the name evokes the biblical description of the Land of Israel as a land flowing with milk and honey. The pint uses ingredients sourced from Israeli dairy and beekeeping operations, with Star of David-shaped chocolate fudge pieces mixed throughout.
The company, now separate from its American counterpart after the dispute over sales in Israeli settlements in 2021, is marketing the new pint as its “most Israeli flavor ever.” On its website, it describes the flavor as a “symbol of hope, rehabilitation, and positive action” following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.
The flavor’s ingredients and production are tied to southern Israeli communities that were heavily affected by the Oct. 7 massacre and the war that followed. Ben & Jerry’s Israel, based in Kiryat Malachi, said it “felt a responsibility to take an active part in the region’s recovery process.”
The milk and cream come from the dairy at Kibbutz Alumim, one of the Gaza-border communities infiltrated by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023. The honey is sourced from beehives at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai. The chocolate Stars of David are handmade at the Korint factory in Beersheba, part of the Shkulo Tov social enterprise, which helps integrate people with disabilities into the workforce.
The packaging is also local. The pint features “Fields of Light,” a painting by southern Israeli artist Rivi Doron-Gerloy, who was killed in a Miami car accident last year.
Proceeds from sales will support revitalization in Israel’s south
The flavor was developed in partnership with the Ayalim Association, a nonprofit focused on strengthening Israel’s periphery. Ben & Jerry’s Israel said royalties from sales of the new flavor will support Ayalim’s rehabilitation and educational initiatives in the south.
The Israeli and American Ben & Jerry’s businesses are now fully separate, following one of the more unusual corporate disputes in recent memory. In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop selling its products in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying such sales were “inconsistent” with its values.
The decision triggered a strong backlash in Israel. President Isaac Herzog described the boycott as a “new kind of terrorism,” while Benjamin Netanyahu, then the opposition leader, retweeted the company’s announcement that it would stop selling in the “Occupied Palestinian Territories,” writing, “Now we Israelis know which ice cream NOT to buy,” alongside Israeli flag and flexed-bicep emojis.
Founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who no longer control the company but remain its most recognizable public figures, also faced criticism after the decision. In an interview, they were asked why the company’s boycott logic did not extend to places such as Georgia and Texas, despite their objections to those states’ voting rights and abortion laws.
“Why do you still sell ice cream in Georgia? Texas?” Axios reporter Alexi McCammond asked in a video that spread widely on pro-Israel platforms.
Appearing caught off guard, Cohen shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said, laughing. “You ask a really good question, and I think I’d have to sit down and think about it for a bit.”
Unilever’s then-chief executive, Alan Jope, also appeared to suggest that Israel had become an awkward distraction for the brand’s activism. “There is plenty for Ben & Jerry’s to get their teeth into in their social justice mission without straying into geopolitics,” he reportedly said during a quarterly earnings review at the time.
The dispute ended commercially when Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s parent company, sold the Israeli business in 2022 to Avi Zinger, the longtime Israeli licensee and owner of American Quality Products. The sale was accompanied by legal battles, which intensified after Zinger told an Israeli news outlet that, once he took control of the company in Israel, he could rename the signature flavor “Chunky Monkey” as “Judea and Samaria,” the Hebrew term for the West Bank.
Under the final arrangement, Ben & Jerry’s products could continue to be sold throughout Israel and in Israeli settlements under Hebrew- and Arabic-language branding. The Vermont-based company said it disagreed with the move and would no longer profit from Israeli sales.
An unusual commercial situation
The split left the Israeli operation in an unusual position: it carries one of the most recognizable American ice cream names while openly diverging from the political stance associated with that name abroad.
The restructuring has not erased all objections, however. On social media, the new flavor drew curiosity and praise, but also criticism from people who said the Ben & Jerry’s name still carried too much baggage, even under Israeli ownership.
“I really don’t care if it’s owned by someone other than Ben and Jerry in Israel. Those two clowns’ names are still associated with the brand. I wouldn’t spend a penny for this ice cream regardless. That brand is done,” one person wrote on Instagram.
“We’ve been eating Häagen-Dazs since October 7th,” another wrote.
Last year, Cohen said he planned to produce an independent “flavor for Palestine” after Unilever blocked Ben & Jerry’s from creating one, asking for suggestions on what should accompany watermelon, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
“Milk and Honey” has reached the market more quickly. But early reactions to the flavor have been mixed.
A food influencer described the new pint as a “statement,” while offering a more practical assessment of the taste, saying it “tastes like vanilla with chocolate chips.” Others in Israeli food groups made similar comments, saying the honey flavor was barely noticeable.
One commenter, referring to pareve desserts made under kosher rules that prohibit mixing meat and dairy, wrote: “Not the tastiest thing I’ve ever eaten, but not as bad as a pareve dessert either.”