Ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s on Wednesday sued its parent company, Unilever, for allegedly blocking its efforts to voice support for Palestinians in Gaza.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States, claims that Unilever had threatened to dismantle Ben & Jerry’s board and pursue legal action against its members over this issue, Reuters reported.
The lawsuit highlights ongoing tensions between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever that began in 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s announced it would no longer sell its products in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. Doing so ran contrary to Ben & Jerry’s values, the firm said. This decision prompted some investors to divest from Unilever.
Ben & Jerry’s has taken legal action against Unilever before, after it sold the brand’s business in Israel to a local licensee, allowing continued sales in Israel and Judea and Samaria. That lawsuit was settled in 2022.
In this latest legal action, Ben & Jerry’s accuses Unilever of violating terms of the confidential 2022 settlement. Under this agreement, Unilever is required to “respect and acknowledge the Ben & Jerry’s independent board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s social mission,” according to the lawsuit.
“Ben & Jerry’s has on four occasions attempted to publicly speak out in support of peace and human rights,” the lawsuit states, “Unilever has silenced each of these efforts.”
Unilever did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported.
Last year, a Manhattan judge dismissed another lawsuit against Unilever by investors who said that Ben & Jerry’s political involvement on behalf of the Palestinians was hurting Unilever, and that Unilever had failed to properly disclose details about this.
Ben & Jerry’s was founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, two Jewish businessmen from Vermont. It is one of the most politically vocal and partisan financial enterprises of its size in the United States.
In addition to Palestinian nationalism, the company supports a host of left-wing causes, including abortion, gun control, immigration, ending the production of fossil fuel, transgenderism and “dismantling white supremacy” through “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” as the firm terms it on its website.
