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one of ben and jerry’s The founders have launched a campaign against the brand’s owner, claiming it has blocked the creation of a flavor in support of Palestine,
In an Instagram post, a defiant ben cohen announced that he would make a watermelon Sherbet Taste in Support of Palestine through its independent company, Ben’s Best.
While Ben & Jerry’s has been owned unilever Through Magnum, its ice cream arm since 2001, which will soon become its own company, co-founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have entered into a takeover agreement that allows independent activism through the board.
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Cohen’s latest message to the ice cream brand owner is to “liberate the company,” a further development of tensions between the two sides following the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Speaking from his kitchen, Cohen said, despite the ceasefire, Palestinians were still suffering under “occupation”.
“Not long ago, Ben & Jerry’s tried to create an environment in Palestine calling for peace, standing up for justice and dignity for all,” he said.
“But they weren’t allowed to, Unilever Magnum, the company that owns Ben & Jerry’s, stopped them.
“So I’m doing what they couldn’t, I’m making watermelon-flavored ice cream that calls for lasting peace in Palestine and repairing all the damage that’s been done there.”
The watermelon has become a symbol of the people in Gaza and the West Bank due to the similarity between the color of the fruit and the Palestinian flag.
In 2021, the ice cream brand refused to sell its products in areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but Unilever sold its branch to a local licensee to make products available in the region.
Ben & Jerry’s has filed several court actions against Unilever, alleging that Unilever has limited its ability to campaign against Donald Trump and Israel.
In September, Greenfield announced he was stepping down from the company after nearly 50 years with the brand, citing concerns that Unilever was curbing its social activism.
Cohen and Greenfield have since launched a public campaign calling on Unilever and Magnum to “free the companies to private ownership”.
The activist page says, “The mission of the campaign is simple: to call on The Magnum Ice Cream Company to allow Ben & Jerry’s to become an independently owned company with socially engaged investors and once again be free to honor its social mission and live without compromising its brand values.”
Cohen told the BBC at the time that Greenfield had a big heart and that the Unilever conflict was breaking him.
He said, “My heart inspires me to continue working inside the company to advocate for the company’s independence so that it can realize its social mission, the values on which it was founded and has maintained for more than 40 years.”
Both Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s have been contacted for comment.