December 21, 2021

Stan Rupnik
Illinois Investment Policy Board
100 W. Randolph, 16th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60601

Douglas Wesley
Illinois Investment Policy Board
100 W. Randolph, 16th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60601

Dipesh Mehta
Illinois Investment Policy Board
100 W. Randolph, 16th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60601

Michael R. Mahoney
Illinois Investment Policy Board
100 W. Randolph, 16th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60601

Andrew Lappin
Illinois Investment Policy Board
100 W. Randolph, 16th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60601

Alicia Oberman
Illinois Investment Policy Board
100 W. Randolph, 16th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60601

Dear Illinois Investment Policy Board:

We are Jewish Illinoisans writing to urge the Illinois Investment Policy Board to refrain from
adding Unilever PLC to the Illinois Prohibited Investment List. The implications of such a move
would be a significant departure from longstanding US foreign policy. As members of the
community who care deeply about Israel’s future, we object because this step undermines efforts
to enable Israel to live in peace and to maintain its character as a democracy and a Jewish state.

The July 2021 Ben & Jerry’s decision to cease sales of its product in Israeli settlements is a
principled pro-Israel position. Both Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company Unilever have
repeatedly stated that their policy is limited to territory that is under Israeli military occupation,
and that this decision would not extend to sales of their products within the state of Israel. By
narrowly targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank while continuing to sell products in the
state of Israel, Ben & Jerry’s has taken a moral stance to boycott settlements – one of the greatest
threats to Israel's future and a Two-State solution – while continuing to support the legitimacy
and existence of the state of Israel.

The United States does not recognize the Israeli settlements as part of the state of Israel –
settlements and Israel’s occupation have been broadly recognized as violations of international
law by much of the international community. For a future Two-State solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict, and, indeed, for the future of Israel as a democracy and a Jewish state, it is
vital that the distinction between sovereign Israel and the settlements be maintained.

By wrongly applying the same standard of treatment to both the settlements in the occupied
territories and the state of Israel, Public Act 099-0128 undermines the distinction between the
two –contributing to the erasure of the Green Line and threatening the future of a negotiated
Two-State Solution.

The law is a clear attempt to conflate Israeli settlements with Israel and is a divergence from
longstanding bipartisan US foreign policy. As Jewish Americans who care deeply about the
security and longevity of the State of Israel, we urge the board to vote against adding Unilever
PLC to the Prohibited Investment List.

Signed,*

Jim Klutznick; Americans for Peace Now, Board Member and Chair
Marilyn Katz; Americans for Peace Now, Board Member
Aviva Futorian; Americans for Peace Now, Board Member
William S. Singer
Becky Galler, J Street
Judith Kossy
Rochelle Diogenes
Susan Gzesh
David Ginsberg
Barbara Engel
Deborah Rosenberg
Mark Zivin
Richard Goldwasser
Judy Wise
Judd Miner
Linda Miner
Brad Gordon
Bettylu Saltzman
Fredric P. Andes
Bird Hoffman
Sarah Stafford

*Professional titles and organizational affiliations are given for identification purposes only and
do not indicate organizational endorsement of this open letter