Wall Street Journal ~ A Ben & Jerry’s refrigerator at a store in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The ice-cream maker said last year that it would stop selling its products in the West Bank and parts of East Jerusalem. PHOTO: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS By Ginger Adams Otis, March 3, 2022 10:50 am ET An Israeli ice cream manufacturer has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Ben & Jerry’s, claiming his license wasn’t renewed because of where he sells his products. Avi Zinger filed a suit in New Jersey federal court Thursday, listing the Vermont ice cream brand and its parent, Unilever PLC, UL -2.27% as defendants. The lawsuit alleges the company declined to renew the license for Mr. Zinger’s American Quality Products LTD because he refused to stop distributing Ben & Jerry’s products in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and parts of contested East Jerusalem. Mr. Zinger, 69 years old, is seeking an injunction against the company that will permit him to keep making and distributing Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel until his lawsuit is resolved. Mr. Zinger’s suit is also seeking unspecified damages to be determined at trial. Ben & Jerry’s announced last year that it would no longer sell its products in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and parts of contested East Jerusalem once its current licensing agreement expires at the end of 2022. Such sales were “inconsistent with our values,” said a statement posted on its website when the decision was announced in July 2021. Unilever didn’t immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment. A Ben & Jerry’s spokeswoman declined to comment. Mr. Zinger’s company has been licensed to sell the brand for 34 years. In his suit, he said Ben & Jerry’s “repeatedly promised” they would extend his five-year license when it expires this December. On July 19, 2021, his suit said, Mr. Zinger was told in a letter that Ben & Jerry’s wouldn’t be renewing his license. That same day, the lawsuit said, the company issued its public statement that it would stop selling in West Bank settlements at the end of 2022. Attorneys for Mr. Zinger said he is being forced to choose between his livelihood and the law. If he complied with Unilever’s policy, Mr. Zinger would be in violation of Israeli’s nondiscrimination law and its law prohibiting boycotts against Israeli, as well as U.S. laws prohibiting the same, the suit stated. “The only reason for a nonrenewal was plaintiffs’ refusal to carry out [the] unlawful demand,” the suit said. Ben & Jerry’s, founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield and acquired by Unilever in 2000, has long touted values such as human rights and economic justice. As part of its acquisition by Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s and its independent board retained the right to make decisions about its social mission. Around 700,000 Jewish settlers live in areas in East Jerusalem and the West Bank captured by Israel in the 1967 war. The settlements are largely treated the same as the rest of Israel and supported by the government. Pro-Palestinian activists have long campaigned to get companies to boycott Israeli settlements. Both areas are considered occupied territory by the international community. A Ben & Jerry’s refrigerator at a store in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The ice-cream maker said last year that it would stop selling its products in the West Bank and parts of East Jerusalem. PHOTO: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS By Ginger Adams Otis Follow