On Sunday, Ben & Jerry's founders claimed on MSNBC that parent company Unilever PLC had broken the terms of the 2000 merger agreement by selling the Ben & Jerry's business in Israel to a local licensee who could then sell their products in the West Bank.
"That agreement gave authority over the social mission to the independent board of Ben & Jerry's. 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," Ben Cohen said in a televised interview.
According to partner Jerry Greenfield, the agreement is enforceable and must be followed.
Contrarily, Unilever has asserted that it still has the authority to decide how Ben & Jerry's is run and that the sale is final and cannot be reversed.
Ben & Jerry's announced earlier this month that it intended to revise its Federal court of Manhattan lawsuit contesting Unilever's sale of the Israeli company. Unilever has until November 1 to reply.
The Burlington, Vermont-based company made the decision to stop selling in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories in July 2021, citing that it was "inconsistent" with the progressive principles and social mission it had retained the right to promote.
Following that decision, Unilever faced backlash that included pension funds divesting themselves of the consumer goods company and accusations of anti-Semitism from some Jewish organizations.
(Source:www.aljazeera.com)
"That agreement gave authority over the social mission to the independent board of Ben & Jerry's. 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," Ben Cohen said in a televised interview.
According to partner Jerry Greenfield, the agreement is enforceable and must be followed.
Contrarily, Unilever has asserted that it still has the authority to decide how Ben & Jerry's is run and that the sale is final and cannot be reversed.
Ben & Jerry's announced earlier this month that it intended to revise its Federal court of Manhattan lawsuit contesting Unilever's sale of the Israeli company. Unilever has until November 1 to reply.
The Burlington, Vermont-based company made the decision to stop selling in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories in July 2021, citing that it was "inconsistent" with the progressive principles and social mission it had retained the right to promote.
Following that decision, Unilever faced backlash that included pension funds divesting themselves of the consumer goods company and accusations of anti-Semitism from some Jewish organizations.
(Source:www.aljazeera.com)
