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“We reject the claims made by B&J’s social mission board, and we will defend our case very strongly. We would not comment further on this legal matter.”
By Shula Rosen
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen accused Unilever of blocking an attempt to release an ice cream “flavor for Palestine,” reviving long-running tensions between the Vermont-based brand and its parent company over anti-Israel activism and the BDS movement.
Cohen said Tuesday that Unilever’s ice cream division, Magnum, refused to approve the product despite alleged endorsement from Ben & Jerry’s independent board.
“Unilever/Magnum stopped Ben & Jerry’s from creating a flavor for Palestine — so I’m doing it myself,” he wrote on X, inviting followers to help name and design the pint.
“I’ve got a watermelon, an empty pint, and I need your help: Name the flavor, suggest ingredients or design the pint packaging,” he added.
Watermelon, given its green and red color and black seeds, has been used in demonstrations to represent the Palestinian cause.
A Unilever spokesperson said: “Our heart goes out to all 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 strongly. We would not comment further on this legal matter.”
The dispute follows a history of friction between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever, which purchased the company in 2000 for $326 million while agreeing to preserve its independent board.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who has since announced his resignation from the company, were engaged in a dispute with Unilever in their attempt to bar the sale of Ben & Jerry’s products in Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem.
The controversy led to legal battles that prompted Unilever to sell its Israeli branch to a local operator, resulting in a 2022 settlement.
Cohen was removed from a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing featuring Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in May.
He wrote on X, “I told Congress they’re killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and they’re paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the U.S.”
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