The independent board of Ben & Jerry’s said the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza is a genocide, escalating a bitter feud between the ice cream maker and its longtime London-based corporate parent, Unilever.
“Ben & Jerry’s believes in human rights and advocates for peace, and we join with those around the world who denounce the genocide in Gaza,” the board said in a statement viewed by Reuters. “We stand with all who raise their voices against genocide in Gaza — from petition-signers to street marchers to those risking arrest.”
Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s have been at odds since at least 2021 when the Chubby Hubby ice cream maker said it would stop selling in the Israel-controlled West Bank.
Ben & Jerry’s sued its owner last year over its alleged attempts to silence it on Gaza and criticize US President Donald Trump. Its statement on Gaza is unusual for a major US brand.
A Unilever spokesperson said that the comments reflect the views of the independent social mission board of Ben & Jerry’s and do not represent the views of anyone other than themselves.
“We call for peace in the region and for relief for all those whose lives have been impacted,” the spokesperson said.
Unilever asked a US judge to dismiss Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit. The company is also in the process of separating its ice cream business, including Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s, into an independent company this summer.
Ben & Jerry’s has said its 2000 merger agreement with Unilever gave its independent board “primary responsibility” to pursue the company’s social mission. The crux of the dispute between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever is how much leeway the board actually has.
Earlier this month, co-founder Ben Cohen was arrested for protesting against Israel during a US Senate hearing in Washington, DC. Video from the scene showed police removing Cohen and other protesters from the room, while Cohen shouted that the US government was killing Palestinian children.
Also this month, Cohen appeared on Tucker Carlson’s talk show, where he said, “There seems to be some kind of strange relationship between Israel and the US, where, I don’t know, Israel now has the US supplying weapons for its genocide.”
“And what I’m told is that Israel wants some concept of greater Israel,” he added, using a term that has generally referred to Israeli control of territories such as the West Bank and Gaza.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when some 5,000 Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Israel rejects any accusations of war crimes in its subsequent campaign to topple Hamas and return those taken captive, pointing among other things to its efforts to allow humanitarian aid into the Strip and its efforts to avoid civilian casualties during its air and ground operations against the terror group and its allies.