Ben & Jerry’s is suing parent company Unilever, accusing it of silencing the ice cream maker from making statements supporting the Palestinians in the Gaza war.
The complaint, filed Wednesday in federal court in New York, says the multinational conglomerate failed to comply with its contractual obligations with Ben & Jerry’s by threatening to dissolve the company’s independent board, sue board members, intimidate employees and shut down the company “from a community that expresses support for peace and refugee rights,” the lawsuit said.
London-based Unilever said in a statement that it rejects the claims made by Ben & Jerry’s social welfare board. “We will strongly defend our case,” he said.
Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry’s, a long-time supporter of sustainable social causes, in 2000 but distanced itself over the ice cream maker’s decision in 2021 to stop sales in Israeli settlements in the West Bank that played out and intervened in the conflict in east Jerusalem.
When Ben & Jerry’s was sold, the companies agreed that the ice cream maker’s independent board would be free to continue its public work, including longtime support of liberal causes in things like racial justice, climate action, LGBTQ rights and campaign finance. But Unilever will have the final say on financial and operational decisions.
Unilever then announced in July 2022 that it was selling its interest in the Vermont ice cream company to its Israeli licensee, which would market Ben & Jerry’s products with Hebrew and Arabic labels in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Ben & Jerry’s tried to block this program in court but failed.
After months of negotiations, Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever entered into a settlement agreement, in which Unilever must respect the board’s responsibility regarding the social purpose of the ice cream and the integrity of the product, and “work in good faith with the Independent Board to ensure that both agree.” protected and carried forward,” the lawsuit said.
Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced by Unilever in four attempts to speak out publicly against the war in Gaza with calls for “peace and an end to the cease-fire,” support for American college students protesting the war and an end to US military aid. Israel, the case says.
“Unilever has repeatedly failed to recognize and respect the primary responsibility of the Independent Board regarding Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Brand Integrity, including threatening Ben & Jerry’s employees when the company speaks about issues Unilever likes to consider,” the ice cream maker said. the case. “The independent board is launching this case to protect Ben & Jerry’s three-pronged strategy from erosion and to protect the company from Unilever’s repeated attacks.”
In March, Unilever announced it would cut 7,500 jobs and close its ice cream business to cut costs and increase profits.
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