Ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming that its parent company, Unilever, censored its attempts to express support for Palestinian causes, according to Reuters.
Ben & Jerry’s claimed that its parent company threatened to dismantle the ice cream company’s board and sue board members over attempts to take a stance on the issues in Gaza, according to Reuters. Ben and Jerry’s claimed in the lawsuit that it was blocked by Unilever from expressing opinions on the Gaza war, such as trying to call for a ceasefire and supporting Palestinian refugees coming to Britain. (RELATED: US Olympic Legend Coming Out Of Retirement To Achieve More Glory)
The lawsuit claimed that Peter ter Kulve, president of Unilever’s ice cream business group, expressed concerns about the “continued perception of anti-Semitism” if Ben & Jerry’s took a stance on the war in Gaza, according to Reuters. Ben & Jerry’s previously sued Unilever in 2022 in an attempt to block the sale of its business in Israel, Reuters reported.
MIAMI, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 23: Ice cream is for sale in a Ben & Jerry’s store on September 23, 2021 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“Ben & Jerry’s has on four occasions attempted to publicly speak out in support of peace and human rights,” according to the lawsuit, Reuters reported. “Unilever has silenced each of these efforts.”
There has been an ongoing war between Israel and Hamas after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in the murder of approximately 1,200 people.
Ben & Jerry’s lost billions in market cap in 2023 after it posted a poorly received tweet about “stolen indigenous land” on the Fourth of July that year. The company previously faced backlash for announcing that it would stop selling ice cream in certain parts of Israel in July 2021.
“Our heart goes out to all victims of the tragic events in the Middle East,” Unilever said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We reject the claims made by B&J’s social mission board, and we will defend our case very strongly. We would not comment further on this legal matter.” (RELATED: University Leaders Secretly Promised ‘Amazing Wins’ For Anti-Israel Protesters As They Stormed Campuses)
Ben & Jerry’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
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