Ben & Jerry’s Lawsuit Claims Unilever Silenced Efforts to Speak Out on Israel-Palestine War
The combative relationship between ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company Unilever — specifically, disagreements on social policy in the Middle East regarding Israel and Palestine — has roared to life again in a big way, with Ben & Jerry’s filing a lawsuit claiming Unilever silenced its attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees, then threatened to dismantle its board and sue members over the issue, according to a report from Reuters.
This is not the first time the two have gone to battle over Israeli-Palestinian relations, with Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever locked in a long argument over sales of the ice cream products in Israeli-occupied territories such as the West Bank back in 2021 and 2022. Ben & Jerry’s independent board of directors demanded that the products not be sold or marketed there and sued Unilever and the local distributor at various times over that period of time. The matter supposedly was settled at the end of 2022.
According to the Reuters report, Ben & Jerry’s new lawsuit claims Unilever has breached the terms of that 2022 settlement, which have remained confidential. Ben & Jerry’s says Unilever is required to “respect and acknowledge the Ben & Jerry’s independent board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s social mission,” in the newest lawsuit.
Further, Ben & Jerry’s claims that it has tried to speak publicly four separate times on the conflict: calling for a ceasefire; supporting the safe passage of Palestinian refugees to Britain; backing students protesting at U.S. colleges against civilian deaths in Gaza; and advocating the ending of U.S. military aid to Israel. It went on to say that Unilever has silenced every one of those attempts.
Additionally, the 2022 settlement reportedly included a requirement that Unilever pay Ben & Jerry’s $5 million to make donations to human rights groups of its own choosing, and Unilever objected to the selections, particularly that of Jewish Voice for Peace, calling it “too critical of the Israeli government,” the lawsuit said.
Unilever responded to Reuters after the first edition of the story was published, saying it rejected the claims made by Ben & Jerry’s and will defend its case very strongly, and it also expressed support for all victims in the Middle East.
Unilever has planned to spin off its ice cream business — including Ben & Jerry’s — as announced in March 2024. Investors, at the time, lauded the move due to the volatility of the business, but the volatility caused by infighting over social issues certainly doesn’t help either. What this continued battle with Ben & Jerry’s means for the ultimate outcome of the spinoff plan remains to be seen.
