Ben & Jerry’s sues Unilever over sale of Israeli business
One week after its parent company found a way to get Ben & Jerry’s ice cream sold in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, the company known for its stance on social issues almost as much as for its Chunky Monkey ice cream is suing to block that from happening.
Unilever announced that it was selling its interest in the Vermont ice cream maker to its Israeli licensee, which would market Ben & Jerry’s products with Hebrew and Arabic labels.
In a Manhattan federal court this week, the ice cream maker said that Unilever’s maneuver “poses a risk” to the integrity of its brand. It claims the deal violates the 2000 acquisition agreement that allowed Ben & Jerry’s to continue its progressive social mission independently of business decisions made by Unilever.
“An injunction restraining Unilever from violating the express terms of the Merger Agreement and Shareholders Agreement is essential to preserve the status quo and protect the brand and social integrity Ben & Jerry’s has spent decades building,” the complaint says.
That passage in the lawsuit refers to the intense bidding process that took place in 2000 for Ben & Jerry’s, one of the most recognizable brands in America. Ben & Jerry’s was adamant that even after a sale, it would be allowed to continue to pursue its social causes.
In agreeing to the sale, Ben & Jerry’s was allowed an independent board of directors which was authorized to prevent Unilever from making decisions that are “inconsistent with the Essential Integrity of the Brand,” according to legal filings.
Unilever said it does not comment on pending litigation, but said it did have the right to the sale and that the “deal has already closed.”
The complaint outlines Ben & Jerry’s history of social activism over its 44-year history, including opposition to U.S. nuclear weapons spending in the 1980s and in the 1990s supporting LGBTQ+ rights and farmers.
That activism has continued under Unilever with the focus on, among other issues, migrant justice and climate change. In the aftermath of the 2020 death of George Floyd, Ben & Jerry’s became an advocate for Black Lives Matter.
Last year Ben & Jerry’s independent board said it was going to stop selling its ice cream in the Israelioccupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem, saying the sales in the territories sought by the Palestinians are “inconsistent with our values.”
Ben & Jerry’s 2021 decision was not a full boycott, and appeared to be aimed at Israel’s settlement enterprise. Some 700,000 Jewish settlers live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed and considers part of its capital. Israel captured both territories in the 1967 Mideast war.
Most of the international community views the settlements as a violation of international law. The Palestinians consider them the main obstacle to peace because they absorb and divide up the land on which a future Palestinian state would be established.