By Jessica Di Napoli
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s said in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday that its parent company Unilever (LON:) has silenced its attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees and threatened to dismantle its board of directors and sue its members over the issue.
The lawsuit is the latest sign of long-simmering tensions between Ben & Jerry’s and consumer products maker Unilever. A rift erupted between the two in 2021 after Ben & Jerry’s said it would stop selling its products in the Israeli-occupied West Bank because it was inconsistent with its values, a move that led some investors to sell Unilever shares.
The ice cream maker then sued Unilever for selling its business in Israel to its licensee there, allowing marketing to continue in the West Bank and Israel. That lawsuit was resolved in 2022.
In its new lawsuit, Ben & Jerry’s says Unilever breached the terms of the 2022 deal, which was kept confidential. However, as part of the agreement, Unilever must “respect and recognize the primary responsibility of Ben & Jerry’s independent board for Ben & Jerry’s social mission,” according to the lawsuit.
“Ben & Jerry’s has attempted on four occasions to speak publicly in support of peace and human rights,” according to the lawsuit. “Unilever has silenced each of these efforts.”
Unilever did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ben & Jerry’s said in the lawsuit that it has attempted to call for a ceasefire, support the safe passage of Palestinian refugees to Britain, support students protesting at American universities against civilian deaths in Gaza and advocate for a ceasefire. of US military aid to Israel. but it has been blocked by Unilever.
The independent board spoke separately about some of those issues, but the company was muzzled, the lawsuit says.
Ben & Jerry’s said Peter ter Kulve, Unilever’s head of ice cream, said he was concerned about the “continued perception of anti-Semitism” regarding the ice cream brand expressing its views on Gaza refugees, according to the lawsuit.
Under the settlement agreement, Unilever was also required to make a total of $5 million in payments to Ben & Jerry’s for the brand to make donations to human rights groups of its choice, according to the lawsuit.
Ben & Jerry’s selected the leftist Jewish Voice for Peace and the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, among others, the document says.
In August, Unilever objected to the selections, saying Jewish Voice for Peace was “overly critical of the Israeli government,” according to the lawsuit.
Ben & Jerry’s has positioned itself as a socially conscious company since Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded the company in a renovated gas station in 1978. It maintained that mission after Unilever acquired it in 2000.
In March, Unilever said it will spin off its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, by the end of 2025 to simplify its holdings.
Unilever’s dozens of products include Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Knorr bouillon cubes, Surf detergent and Vaseline.