Ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that parent company Unilever has silenced its efforts to express support for Palestinian refugees and threatened to eliminate its board and sue its members over the issue. Has given.
The lawsuit is the latest sign of this chronic stress Between Ben & Jerry’s and consumer products maker Unilever.
After Ben & Jerry’s said this, a rift arose between the two in 2021 stop selling its products in the Israeli-occupied West Bank because these were inconsistent with its values, a move that prompted some Investors will disinvest Unilever shares.
then ice cream maker Unilever sued To sell its business in Israel to a licensee there, which allowed it to continue marketing in the West Bank and Israel. that was the case settle down In 2022.
In its new lawsuit, Ben & Jerry’s says Unilever violated the terms of the 2022 agreement, which has been confidential. However, as part of the agreement, according to the lawsuit, Unilever is required to “respect and acknowledge the primary responsibility of Ben & Jerry’s independent board on Ben & Jerry’s social mission.”
According to the lawsuit, “Ben & Jerry’s has attempted to speak publicly in support of peace and human rights on four occasions.” “Unilever has silenced each of these efforts.”
In response to the Reuters story, Unilever said in an emailed statement: “Our condolences go out to all the victims of the tragic events in the Middle East. We reject the claims made by B&J’s Social Mission Board, and we will defend our case very vigorously.
“We will not be commenting further on this legal matter,” it added.
Ben & Jerry’s says in lawsuit it has tried to do so call for a ceasefiresupports the safe travel of Palestinian refugees to the UK, supports students protesting at US colleges against the death of civilians in Gaza, and advocates stopping US military aid to Israel, but is blocked by Unilever. Has been given.
The lawsuit says the independent board addressed some of those topics separately, but the company was silenced.
According to the lawsuit, Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever ice cream chief Peter ter Kulve said he was concerned about “the continued perception of anti-Semitism” in relation to the ice cream brand expressing its opinions on Gazan refugees.
According to the lawsuit, the settlement agreement also required Unilever to pay Ben & Jerry’s a total of $5 million for the brand to donate to its favorite human rights groups.
Ben & Jerry’s has chosen the left-wing Jewish Voice for Peace and the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the filing said.
According to the lawsuit, Unilever objected to the selections in August, saying that Jewish Voice for Peace was “too critical of the Israeli government.”
Ben & Jerry’s has positioned itself as socially conscious since Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded the company in a renovated gas station in 1978. It continued this mission even after its acquisition by Unilever in 2000.
In March, Unilever said it would by-product Its ice cream business, which also includes Ben & Jerry’s, is to liquidate its stake by the end of 2025.
Dozens of Unilever products include Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Knorr bouillon cubes, surf detergent and Vaseline petroleum jelly.
