Ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that parent company Unilever has silenced its attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees, and threatened to dismantle its board and sue its members over the issue.
The lawsuit is the latest sign of the 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 to divest Unilever shares.
The ice cream maker then sued Unilever for selling its business in Israel to its licensee there, which allowed marketing in the West Bank and Israel to continue. That lawsuit was settled in 2022.
It’s news to me and I’m also upset now that Ben& Jerry’s traditionally a fantastically protest full brand is being stopped in this one way. And also I didn’t know that they were the Unilever brand, so that’s new to me
Exactly. I think it’s silly to assume people understand something just because you think everyone knows or it’s obvious.
Not everyone knows and it’s not always obvious.