Ben & Jerry’s sues parent company for silencing it over Gaza stance

Ben & Jerry’s filed a complaint on Wednesday, accusing its parent company Unilever (ULVR.L) of hushing its support for Palestinian refugees and threatened to disband its board and prosecute its members over the matter.

The lawsuit is the latest manifestation of long-standing disputes between Ben & Jerry’s and consumer goods company Unilever since 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s announced that it would stop selling its goods in the Israeli-occupied West Bank because it was contradictory with its beliefs, prompting some investors to liquidate Unilever stock.

The ice cream producer then sued Unilever for transferring its business in “Israel” to a local licensee, allowing marketing in the West Bank and “Israel” to continue. The lawsuit was resolved in 2022.

In its latest case, Ben & Jerry’s claims that Unilever violated the conditions of the 2022 deal, which has remained undisclosed. According to the complaint, Unilever is bound by the agreement to “respect and acknowledge the independent board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s social mission.”

“Ben & Jerry’s has on four occasions attempted to publicly speak out in support of peace and human rights,” as per the complaint. “Unilever has silenced each of these efforts.”

In an emailed statement sent to Reuters, Unilever responded that it rejects the “claims made by B&J’s social mission board, and we will defend our case very strongly.”

Ben & Jerry’s stated in the lawsuit that it has attempted to call for a ceasefire, support the safe passage of Palestinian refugees to Britain, support students protesting civilian deaths in Gaza, and advocate for a halt in US military aid to “Israel” but has been blocked by Unilever.

The independent board separately spoke out on some of those topics, but the company was silenced, the lawsuit said.

A lawsuit claims that Unilever’s head of ice cream, Peter ter Kulve, raised concerns about Ben & Jerry’s stance on refugees from Gaza, fearing it would fuel perceptions of anti-Semitism.

As part of a settlement, Unilever agreed to pay $5 million to Ben & Jerry’s, which the brand then donated to human rights organizations of its choice, including Jewish Voice for Peace and CAIR’s San Francisco Bay chapter.

But Unilever objected to these donations, specifically criticizing Jewish Voice for Peace because it is “too critical of the Israeli government.”

It is worth noting that Ben & Jerry, as well as co-founder Ben Cohen, have prided themselves on standing for justice. In March 2023, Cohen urged the US government to forgo weapons and monetary support for Ukraine.

Cohen has been the president of the People’s Power Initiative, a group that has launched the Eisenhower Media Network (EMN). The network, according to Newsweek, “provides journalists with access to military experts, some of whom believe the US is providing too much aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.”

The network has been grounded in an anti-war approach and prides itself as an “independent resource for journalists,” where “high-level veteran military and national security experts” – who played their respective roles in previous wars – share their expertise without sugarcoating, “because they are not employed by any part of the Military Industrial Congressional Complex.”