Ben & Jerry's says parent Unilever silenced it over Gaza stance

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 investors 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.

In its new lawsuit, Ben & Jerry's says that Unilever has breached the terms of the 2022 settlement, which has remained confidential. As part of the agreement, however, Unilever is required to "respect and acknowledge the Ben & Jerry's independent board's primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry's social mission," according to the lawsuit.

"Ben & Jerry's has on four occasions attempted to publicly speak out 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 it has tried to call for a ceasefire, support the safe passage of Palestinian refugees to Britain, back students protesting at US colleges against civilian deaths in Gaza, and advocate for a halt in US military aid to Israel, but has been blocked by Unilever.

The independent board separately spoke out on some of those topics, but the company was muzzled, the lawsuit says.

Ben & Jerry's said that 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 voicing its opinions on Gazan refugees, according to the lawsuit.

Unilever was also required under the settlement agreement 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 choosing, according to the lawsuit.

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