Ben & Jerry’s co-founder says Unilever 'stopped' ice cream company from creating a 'flavor for Palestine'
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Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen said Tuesday that parent company Unilever prevented the ice cream maker from creating a "flavor for Palestine."
Cohen and the Vermont-based ice cream maker are known for social activism, often supporting Palestinians and criticizing Israel.
"Unilever / Magnum stopped Ben & Jerry’s from creating a flavor for Palestine — so I’m doing it myself," Cohen wrote on X, referring to The Magnum Ice Cream Company, Unilever's ice cream unit.
"I’ve got a watermelon, an empty pint, and I need your help: Name the flavor or suggest ingredients. Or design the pint packaging," he continued.
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Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen alleged parent company Unilever "stopped" the ice cream maker from creating an ice cream "flavor for Palestine." (Lisa Lake for MoveOn / Getty Images)
Watermelons have become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity because their red, green, black and white colors match the Palestinian flag.
"Here I am making something that's actually pretty important. The scale of suffering of the Palestinian people over the last two years has been unimaginable. So the ceasefire is a welcome relief, but there's much more work to do to rebuild. Palestinians are still living under occupation, still recovering from years of suffering, especially Palestinian children," Cohen said in a video posted to X.
"They deserve dignity, safety, and the same rights that every human being should have," he continued. "A while back, Ben & Jerry's tried to make a flavor to call for peace in Palestine, to stand for justice and dignity for everyone, like Ben & Jerry's always has. But they weren't allowed to, they were stopped by Unilever/Magnum, the company that owns Ben and Jerry's. Just like when Ben & Jerry's tried to stop selling ice cream in the occupied territories, they were blocked again by their parent company. So I'm doing what they couldn't."
Cohen said he is now making a watermelon-flavored ice cream that "calls for permanent peace in Palestine and calls for repairing all the damage that was done there."
Watermelons are often used as a symbol of support for Palestinians since their colors match the colors of the Palestinian flag. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"I'm doing this to shine a light on the experience of Palestinian people, and children in particular, so the world does not look the other way," he said.
In a statement to FOX Business, a spokesperson for The Magnum Ice Cream Company responded to Cohen's accusations.
"The independent members of the Ben & Jerry's board of directors made a proposal in this direction this summer," the spokesperson said. "The independent members of Ben & Jerry's Board are not, and have never been, responsible for the Ben & Jerry’s commercial strategy and execution. Recommendations are considered by Ben & Jerry's leadership, and Ben & Jerry's management has determined now is not the right time to invest in developing this product."
The statement added that Ben & Jerry's "continues to focus on its ongoing, impactful campaigns close to its communities" and highlighted a few examples.
The spokesperson said in the U.S., Ben & Jerry's campaigned "in defense of the First Amendment and freedom of speech ('Freeze ice cream, not speech'), including the well-attended ‘Party for Protest Rights’ held in New York City last weekend." In the U.K., the spokesperson said Ben & Jerry's campaigned "for improved conditions in refugee accommodation."
In May, Cohen was removed from a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for protesting against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
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Ben Cohen and the Vermont-based ice-cream maker are known for social activism. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images))
"Congress pays for bombs," Cohen shouted at the time.
"I told Congress they’re killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and they’re paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the US," Cohen added at the time on X.
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder, Jerry Greenfield, recently announced he is leaving the company after 47 years, saying Unilever had "silenced" the ice cream maker on social issues.
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Cohen said after Greenfield's announcement that "his legacy deserves to be true to our values, not silenced."
Earlier this year, Ben & Jerry's also claimed that Unilever unlawfully fired CEO David Stever over his social activism, violating its merger agreement.