Ben & Jerry’s tries to prevent Israeli sell-out once more

Ben & Jerry’s continues to defend its social mission tooth and nail. The ice cream brand files a revised complaint against its parent company Unilever to stop the sale of its ice cream in occupied Palestinian territories.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Ben & Jerry’s is once more trying to prevent the sale of its ice creams in Israeli-Palestinian conflict areas, such as the West Bank. Although the ice cream brand’s claim was recently rejected by the courts, it is filing a new complaint with the federal court in New York. The brand will submit the complaint in the coming weeks, Bloomberg reports.

In any case, the suit is against its parent company Unilever, because it sold the distribution rights to the brand to local Israeli licensee Avi Zinger, out of dissatisfaction with Ben & Jerry’s. The move should permit Unilever to bypass the unruly subsidiary and continue selling its ice cream everywhere.

Principles at risk

Last year, Ben & Jerry’s announced that it would stop selling in the occupied territories out of concern for human rights. But this earned Unilever a storm of protest, from Jewish investors who pulled out to the Israeli government, which, according to Bloomberg, even set up a special task force to pressure the company.

Although the court ruled a fortnight ago that Ben & Jerry’s could not sufficiently demonstrate that it suffered irrevocable damages as a result of the sale, the ice cream maker now claims that Unilever is in breach of the legal agreement made when it acquired the brand in 2000.

“We will not allow our principles to be compromised for the benefit of our parent company,” a spokesman said. Ben & Jerry’s independent board believes it must continue to uphold its social mission, which it has been pursuing for “over forty years”.