Unilever criticized for willingness to sell ice cream in the West Bank

Unilever criticized for willingness to sell ice cream in the West Bank

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Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream maker, which was bought by Unilever in 2000— accuse this corporation in violation of the terms of the deal. They stated this in an interview with MSNBC. The dissatisfaction of Messrs. Cohen and Greenfield was caused by Unilever’s decision to sell the rights to sell Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel to a local company. This effectively means that such ice cream can be sold in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – the UN and most of the international community believe that these territories are occupied by Israel.

At the conclusion of the deal in 2000, Messrs. Cohen and Greenfield, known among other things for their political and social activism, included a clause in the agreement that Ben & Jerry’s should retain an independent board of directors. He must monitor the observance of ethical standards and the social mission of the company. Last year, Ben & Jerry`s decided to stop selling its ice cream in the West Bank, ending an agreement with Israeli company AQP. Messrs. Cohen and Greenfield stated at the time that they, being Jews and supporting Israel, oppose some of its actions. “We unequivocally support the company’s decision to stop business in the occupied territories,” they said, noting that they did not approve of the move to boycott Israel.

After that, AQP began to sue Unilever, as a result, the corporation sold the license to sell AQP ice cream, which makes it possible to sell it, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River. Ben & Jerry`s also filed a lawsuit against Unilever, accusing the company of violating the 2000 agreement. Messrs. Cohen and Greenfield have now said that Unilever usurped power over the company, ignoring the opinion of Ben & Jerry’s independent board of directors.

Yana Rozhdestvenskaya

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