Ben & Jerry's filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against its parent company Unilever, alleging that the consumer goods giant has prevented the ice cream maker from voicing its stance on the Gaza conflict, Reuters reports.
The legal action claims Unilever has threatened to dissolve its board and pursue legal action against board members.
This latest dispute highlights ongoing friction between the Vermont-based ice cream brand and Unilever, which plans to separate its ice cream division next year. The split would include Ben & Jerry's.
The conflict traces back to 2021, when Ben & Jerry's announced it would stop sales in Judea and Samaria and parts of eastern Jerusalem.
The announcement led to months of controversy and criticism, including multiple American states divesting from the firm, and Australia’s kosher authority delisting the ice cream maker.
In July of 2022, Unilever announced that it had reached a new arrangement for Ben & Jerry’s in Israel, selling its Ben & Jerry’s business interests in Israel to Avi Zinger, the owner of American Quality Products Ltd (AQP), the current Israel-based licensee.
Ben & Jerry’s then sued Unilever in a bid to block the sale of the Israeli business to Zinger. That lawsuit was settled in December of 2022.
The new lawsuit, according to the Reuters report, alleges Unilever violated the 2022 settlement terms, which remain private. According to the filing, the agreement required Unilever to "respect and acknowledge the Ben & Jerry's independent board's primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry's social mission."
The lawsuit states that "Ben & Jerry's has on four occasions attempted to publicly speak out in support of peace and human rights. Unilever has silenced each of these efforts."
Unilever responded to Reuters, stating, "Our heart goes out to all victims of the tragic events in the Middle East. We reject the claims made by B&J's social mission board, and we will defend our case very strongly."
According to the lawsuit, Peter ter Kulve, Unilever's ice cream chief, expressed concern about the "continued perception of antisemitism" regarding Ben & Jerry's stance on Gaza refugees.
The lawsuit reveals that under the settlement, Unilever was to provide $5 million for Ben & Jerry's to donate to human rights organizations. When Ben & Jerry's selected Jewish Voice for Peace and the Council on American-Islamic Relations' San Francisco chapter, Unilever reportedly objected in August, claiming that Jewish Voice for Peace was "too critical of the Israeli government."