(JTA) — The board of Ben & Jerry’s, the ice cream company founded by two progressive Jews, is reportedly calling Israel’s war in Gaza a “genocide” in a new statement.
The statement comes four years after the board sparked a bitter legal battle with parent company Unilever over an earlier pledge to stop selling its products in “Occupied Palestinian Territory.” It was viewed and quoted by multiple publications but had not been published on Ben & Jerry’s site by Friday afternoon.
“Ben & Jerry’s believes in human rights and advocates for peace, and we join with those around the world who denounce the genocide in Gaza,” the board said in the statements. “We stand with all who raise their voices against genocide in Gaza — from petitiion-signers to street marchers to those risking arrest.”
A request for comment to Ben & Jerry’s, to verify the statement was not immediately returned. A Unilever spokesperson told Reuters that the comments reflect the views of the Ben & Jerry’s board and no one else.
“We call for peace in the region and for relief for all those whose lives have been impacted,” the Unilever spokesperson said.
Ben & Jerry's political identity
The Ben & Jerry’s board enjoys political independence from its corporate owner under a unique ownership agreement and frequently sounds off on progressive topics. Such activism has at times carried a cost: Its 2021 Israel statement prompted blowback so severe the company lost its Israeli branding and saw several state pension funds divest from Unilever.
The company’s co-founders, Jewish liberals who moved to Vermont from New York City in the 1970s, are not involved in the company or its board. One of them, Ben Cohen, is an outspoken opponent of Israel’s war in Gaza who was arrested after disrupting a Senate hearing with a pro-Palestinian protest. He said Israel was committing genocide in Gaza during a recent appearance on the online show of far-right talk show host Tucker Carlson.
Israel was taken to the International Court of Justice in an investigation over whether it is committing genocide in Gaza, a common allegation amoing its critics that it fiercely rejects. In recent weeks, some supporters of Israel used the word for the first time, amid a monthslong blockade of Gaza. Israel recently launched a controversial new mechanism to deliver aid there, and assistance has begun to enter the enclave.