Here we go again!
The Ben & Jerry’s board is suing its parent company, Unilever. The Ice cream company is calling Israel’s self-protection in Gaza genocide, which goes against the corporate policy against its companies making political statements. They enacted the rule after Ben & Jerry’s 2021 anti-Israel action.
Ben & Jerry’s board is also calling for the end of violence between Hamas and Israel. An example of their anti-violence point of view is what they said about the October 7. 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel. They said, ” ppppppppppppppppppppppppppp ” That’s the sound of nothing.
The anti-violence Ben & Jerry’s board said nothing about the kids at a music conference, the women who were raped and driven naked through town so everyone could see, children killed in front of their mothers, mothers killed in front of their children, babies thrown in the fire ALIVE, kidnapping 251 people of who 58 are still in Hamas hands 20 are still alive, and more than killed. None of that Hamas violence was severe enough for the Ben & Jerry’s board to publicly condemn.
The board of the ice cream company has filed suit against its parent company. According to the WSJ;
The lawsuit was instigated by Ben & Jerry’s independent board. It alleges Unilever breached agreements allowing the board to make decisions about the brand’s social mission. Ben & Jerry’s has an independent board because of an unusual deal Unilever struck to woo the brand when it acquired it in 2000. The rights of the board were reaffirmed two years ago as part of a deal to settle an earlier lawsuit
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s stopped selling its Ice Cream in Judea and Samaria, and that’s when things got really nasty:
Unilever’s relationship with Ben & Jerry’s independent board turned acrimonious in 2021, when Ben & Jerry’s halted sales of its products in Jewish settlements in [Judea snd Samaria] and contested East Jerusalem, saying selling there was inconsistent with its values.
As a result, many countries found Unilever to be in violation of their anti-boycott, divestment and sanctions laws. That led to lawsuits and sanctions against Unilever, and the divestment of hundreds of millions of dollars in Unilever’s stock, Unilever said in a March legal filing.
An earlier Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit was filed in 2022:
Ben & Jerry’s filed a lawsuit against Unilever earlier this month after the parent company sold its Israel division to a local franchisee — contravening the ice cream maker’s ban on doing business in Israeli settlements.
The franchisee, Avi Zi resumed selling the ice cream under the Ben & Jerry’s brand in Judea and Samaria
All the controversies and lawsuits have had their effect. In March 2024, Unilever announced its intention to sell its ice cream business as soon as possible. That includes Ben & Jerry’s and its other ice cream brands.
