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Ice cream brand Ben & Jerry calls it Israel’s actions in the Gaza Genocide.
“Ben & Jerry believes in human rights, defends peace and joins with people all over the world who denounce Gaza’s genocide,” the company’s Independence Committee said in a statement shared with the Financial Age.
The statement could further lighten the relationship between Unilever with ice cream makers, which have owned the brand since 2000.
Ben & Jerry is set to be separated from Unilever later this year as part of the group’s ice cream business spin-off, suing the parent company for trying to silence its activities in Gaza.
In a series of legal complaints filed in a New York court, Ben & Jerry alleges that the consumer goods group is threatening to demolish an independent board of directors, silences the brand for assistance to Palestinian refugees. Unilever refused the claim.
As part of the sale of the $326 million brand sale to Unilever in 2000, the two sides reached an agreement with Ben & Jerry’s Independent Committee to protect the company’s “social mission.”
Most recently, the board allegedly fired Ben & Jerry’s chief executive in a role that was less than two years after Unilever failed to follow his efforts to stop brands speaking out on political issues.
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The legal dispute is the latest in a long-term spat between Israeli and Palestinian brands and their owners. In 2022, Ben & Jerry sued Unilever for trying to block an attempt to stop selling ice cream in the occupying region.
“We stand with everyone who speaks up against Gaza’s genocide, from petition signers to street marchers and dangerous arrests of them,” the board said in a statement.
Unilever said it “supports efforts for peaceful resolution and the end of violence against conflicts around the world.”
“Unilever has filed a lawsuit on the board (Ben and Jerry) and will not comment on its position,” he added.
The isolated ice cream company is called Magnum Ice Cream. That main list takes place in Amsterdam, with more in London and New York.
