Founders of Ben and Jerry’s have accused the Unilever of violating a 22-year-old agreement that could lead to the sale of ice cream in the occupied West Bank.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who founded the company in Vermont in 1978, reportedly have said that they could no longer “sit idly by” after Unilever sold its interest in the ice-cream to an Israeli license holder.
“That agreement gave authority over the social mission to the independent board of Ben & Jerry’s,” Cohen said in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday (18). “Unilever has usurped their authority and reversed the decision that was made and we can’t allow that to happen, we can’t sit idly by.
“That is essentially saying- ‘Well, the independent board does not matter’.”
The founders claim the sale breaches an agreement that was signed when Unilever bought the ice-cream brand in 2000 for $326 million.
Last year, Ben & Jerry’s said it would end sales in the occupied West Bank and parts of East Jerusalem as it was inconsistent with its core values.
But earlier this year, Unilever agreed to sell the Israeli division of the ice cream business to Avi Zinger, who runs American Quality Products and acted as its local partner to produce and distribute the ice creams.
Unilever, in contrast, has said that it retained the right to make operational decisions for Ben & Jerry’s and that the sale could not be undone because it has irrevocably closed.
Ben & Jerry’s said earlier this month that it plans to amend its lawsuit challenging Unilever’s sale of the Israeli business in a federal court in New York. Unilever must respond by November 1.
