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The independent board of Ben & Jerry's has accused its parent company, Unilever Plc, of silencing it on advocating for Palestinian rights, in contravention of an agreement between the two.
Unilever has stopped the ice-cream brand from publicly calling for a cease-fire in Gaza on four occasions, breaking its promise to allow the subsidiary to set its own social mission, Ben & Jerry's independent board said in legal documents filed Wednesday in the US Southern District court.
Unilever threatened to dismantle the board and sue individual members if Ben & Jerry's issued a statement supporting peace and a cease-fire, the filing said. Additionally, the Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods company has prevented Ben & Jerry's social activism managers from publishing a social media post in support of Palestinians fleeing the conflict, despite its long history of supporting refugees, according to the filing.
The head of Unilever's ice cream business, Peter ter Kulve, said the company's actions were driven by concerns over antisemitism, according to the filing.
"Our heart goes out to all victims of the tragic events in the Middle East," Unilever said through a spokesperson. "We reject the claims made by B&J's social mission board, and we will defend our case very strongly."
The renewed legal hostilities are the latest development in a wrangle that has dogged Unilever since 2021, when the maker of "Peace Pops" and "Pecan Resist" said it would halt sales in Jewish West Bank settlements. The political controversy that resulted angered investors in Unilever and ultimately led to the group selling its ice cream unit in Israel to a local producer.
Unilever is in the process of spinning off or selling its ice cream division, including Ben & Jerry's. It's not clear how the unique arrangement at Ben & Jerry's could carry over to new owners. However, going public about the bitter spat risks making some potential buyers uneasy.
In 2022, the brand's board then sued Unilever for breaching its 2000 merger agreement which gave Ben & Jerry's control over its social mission. The dispute was settled confidentially in late 2022, allowing Ben & Jerry's to operate in Israel as a separate entity.
A highly redacted settlement filed Wednesday shows Unilever committed to pay $5 million in two installments to the board for humanitarian and human rights organizations chosen by Chair Anuradha Mittal. Wednesday's lawsuit said Unilever has since blocked donations to Jewish Voice for Peace and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
In February, Unilever Chief Executive Officer Hein Schumacher told Bloomberg Television that Unilever was not taking a stance on complex matters such as the war in Gaza but that Ben & Jerry's has an independent social mission board and "sometimes they give their views."
Unilever and other companies have lost sales in Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia, due to anger against the US and Europe for not doing more to get Israel to end its offensive in Gaza.
Ben & Jerry's lawsuit says that Unilever has donated to Israeli organizations and has not retained a neutral stance in other contexts, most notably on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The case is Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. v Unilever Plc and Conopco Inc., US District Court, Southern District (New York).