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James Lankford wants to ban Ben & Jerry’s in Oklahoma!

10:34 AM EDT on July 22, 2021

Senator James Lankford is having quite a news day. He's no stranger to launching off grenades of dumb statements, still clinging on to Donald Trump's oversized suit coattails.

In his newest and weirdest missive, he is mad about political ice cream. Check out his new Facebook post:

I will not pretend to act like I completely understand the Israel / Palestine history. Like most things in the cradle of civilization, it goes back a long time, and I'm a dumb-dumb. But I do know that it's fucked up and America (especially Republicans) have a deep-seated loyalty to Israel, and that Israel has unfairly punished Palestine with violence over a turf-war that is neverending.

Ben & Jerry's has made the decision to stop selling its products in Israeli-occupied communities. As a business operating under free-market capitalism, that should be their decision to make. It's strange when guys like Lankford, who wholly support that economic system, get mad when companies choose what to do with their company.

Personally, I understand why a company like Ben & Jerry's would take a bold stance. They operate under a fiercely liberal brand and are not afraid to wear their politics on their sleeves. But even though the Isreal has a hawkish and harmful government and military, that doesn't represent all of their citizens. Is America any better with its horrible civil rights record, police violence, treatment towards indigenous people and international war crimes? I have Arabic cousins that grew up in Jerusalem, and they're very good people who should not be denied ice cream. They live in Denver now and are hippies who teach daycare classes for children.