Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s Board Resolve West Bank Sale Dispute
The multinational corporation Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, said that its legal dispute with the board of the ice cream maker, which has independence on social issues, is resolved. The company did not say how the dispute over the sale of the premium ice cream in the West Bank had been settled.
The company announced in the summer of 2021 that it would no longer sell its product in what it called the Occupied Palestinian Territories once its agreement with its Israeli distributor expires at the end of this year. At the time of its decision, Ben & Jerry’s said that selling ice cream in Israeli settlements was “inconsistent with our values.”
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Unilever announced over the summer that it sold its business interests in Israel to Avi Zinger, the owner of American Quality Products, the current Israel-based licensee, and would allow the ice cream to be sold under its Hebrew and Arabic names throughout Israel and the West Bank. The announcement came a year after the ice cream producer announced that it would no longer sell its product in what it called the Occupied Palestinian Territories, once its agreement with its Israeli distributor expires at the end of this year.
Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000. Under the sale agreement, the board of Ben & Jerry’s is permitted to make decisions based on the company’s social mission independent of Unilever, but the parent company has the final say on business decisions.
In August, a federal judge rejected Ben & Jerry’s request to block the sale of its products in east Jerusalem and the West Bank and denied it the right to seek damages and take back the trademarks for the ice cream from Unilever.
