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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/ben-jerrys-sues-parent-company-freeze-israel-sale">electronicintifada.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Ben & Jerry's sues parent company to freeze Israel sale</h1>
<p class="gmail-node__submitted">
<span class="gmail-field gmail-field-author"><a href="https://electronicintifada.net/people/ali-abunimah">Ali Abunimah</a></span> -
<span class="gmail-field gmail-field-publication-date"><span class="gmail-date-display-single">5 July 2022</span></span> </p>
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<span><img src="https://electronicintifada.net/sites/default/files/styles/original_800w/public/2022-07/free_cone_day_at_ben_jerrys_in_new_york.jpeg?itok=dlvKD9pl×tamp=1657060894" alt="A person holds two cups of ice cream" title="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="392" height="261"></span><p><font size="1">Ben
& Jerry’s is determined to defend its decision to end distribution
of its ice cream in Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in the
occupied West Bank.</font></p>
<font size="1"><span>Newscom</span></font><p>Ben & Jerry’s is <a href="https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2022-07-05/ben-jerrys-sues-parent-unilever-to-block-sale-of-israeli-business">suing</a>
its parent company Unilever to block the sale of its brand and rights
in Israel to an Israeli company that distributes its goods in occupied
West Bank settlements.</p>
<p>The ice cream maker is also asking a US federal court in New York for
an emergency injunction to stop the transfer of any Ben & Jerry’s
assets to the Israeli company, AQP, and its owner Avi Zinger.</p>
<p>The move is a further blow to <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israels-claim-it-defeated-ben-jerrys-melts-under-scrutiny">Israel’s claims</a>
that it had forced a reversal of Ben & Jerry’s 2021 decision to end
its licensing agreement with AQP in order to halt sales of its ice
cream in settlements built on Palestinian land.</p>
<p>Israel’s construction of settlements in occupied territory is a war crime that is <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/icc-launches-palestine-war-crimes-probe">currently under investigation</a> by the International Criminal Court.</p>
<p>There is a <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/un-publishes-list-firms-profiting-israeli-war-crimes">growing international consensus</a> that doing business in or with the settlements unavoidably contributes to Israel’s systematic violations of Palestinian rights.</p>
<p>Last week, Unilever <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israels-claim-it-defeated-ben-jerrys-melts-under-scrutiny">announced</a>
it was selling the Ben & Jerry’s business in Israel to AQP, the
local licensee that has manufactured and distributed the brand there for
decades – including in the settlements.</p>
<p>Zinger <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/ben-jerrys-israel-manufacturer-hails-wonderful-new-deal/">vowed</a> to <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/ben-jerrys-israel-parent-company-unilever-reach-deal-to-end-settlement-boycott/">continue selling</a> the product throughout Israeli-controlled territories, including the settlements.</p>
<p>Yair Lapid, Israel’s prime minister, declared the deal a “victory”
for Israel against BDS – the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and
sanctions movement for freedom, justice and equality.</p>
<p>But Ben & Jerry’s quickly announced that it disagreed with Unilever’s move.</p>
<p>“We continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerry’s
values for our ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory,” the company said.</p>
<p>Now Ben & Jerry’s is putting its money where its mouth is. The
central issue in the complaint is the acquisition agreement the
Vermont-based ice cream maker signed when Unilever bought it in 2000.</p>
<p>Under the agreement, Ben & Jerry’s retained an independent board. According to the firm’s <a href="https://www.benjerry.com/about-us/how-were-structured">website</a>, the board is “empowered to protect and defend Ben & Jerry’s brand equity and integrity.”</p>
<p>In a legal complaint filed on Tuesday, the ice cream maker states
that Unilever announced the sale of its name and business in Israel to
AQP “over the objection of Ben & Jerry’s independent board” – a
breach of the acquisition agreement.</p>
<p>The filing also reaffirms that the independent board “reached its
determination that sales of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in the West Bank
are inconsistent with the company’s values,” which is why it wanted to
end its licensing agreement with AQP in the first place.</p>
<p>The ice cream maker argues that Unilever’s attempt to force Ben &
Jerry’s to give up its brand and rights in Israel to a company that
sells in settlements “will cause confusion among Ben & Jerry’s
customers and the public at large.”</p>
<p>The filing adds that the sale will “tarnish Ben & Jerry’s brand
integrity by undermining Ben & Jerry’s long-time commitment to peace
and social justice and threaten to degrade customer goodwill” built up
over decades.</p>
<p>Unilever’s strong-arm tactic as well as the gloats of victory from
Israeli leaders appear only to have hardened the ice cream maker’s
determination to stand by its decision.</p>
<p>Ben & Jerry’s board <a href="https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2022-07-05/ben-jerrys-sues-parent-unilever-to-block-sale-of-israeli-business">voted 5-2</a> to sue its parent company, with only the two Unilever appointees opposing.</p>
<p>In its lawsuit, the company affirms that its decision to halt sales
of its products in the occupied West Bank is fully supported by its
founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.</p>
<p>“While we no longer have any operational control of the company we
founded in 1978, we’re proud of its action and believe it is on the
right side of history,” the pair, whose names still appear on every pint
of the brand’s ice cream, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/opinion/ben-and-jerry-israel.html">wrote</a> last year in <em>The New York Times.</em></p> <h3>
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