The GOP Congressman from Oklahoma made headlines this week calling for a boycott of the famed ice cream brand in his state due to its boycott of Israel ... but he tells us the company actually did this to itself.

As he explains ... Oklahoma has a law in place that says if companies boycott Israel, the state won't do business with them. Taking it one step further, though, Lankford's suggested the general public should also give up Ben & Jerry's.

What's interesting ... Sen. Lankford doesn't consider his call to cancel B&J's a "cancel culture" situation -- instead, he says it's a human rights issue.

However, you gotta see his response when we bring up the very similar situation with Chick-fil-A. As you know, some states want to ban the fast-food chain because of its owner's track record on LGBTQ+ issues -- which most would say is also about "human rights."