Unilever defies Ben & Jerry’s In Israel

Since 1987, Ben Jerry's has been doing business in Israel, but in recent years it has been under pressure for selling in West Bank settlements, considered illegal under international law. In July 2021, it announced that it would stop selling in the West Bank.

The longtime distributor in Israel, American Quality Products AQP, sued Ben Jerry's and Unilever in March, arguing that they were unlawfully terminating their 34 year business relationship in order to boycott Israel. Unilever, one of the world's top sellers of consumer goods, tried to draw a line under the controversy of its announcement last week that it had sold Ben Jerry's Israeli business for an undisclosed amount to AQP.

The retail giant said that all over Israel and the West Bank, Ben Jerry's would be sold under its Hebrew and Arabic names. The decision to sell to AQP took the board of Ben Jerry's by surprise, according to its court filing, which said that its chair had been stunned to hear the news. Since 2021, Ben Jerry's has been fiercely opposed to the sale of its products in the West Bank, saying it would be inconsistent with the brand. In its complaint Tuesday, it noted that its brand values are legally overseen by an independent board of directors under a 2000 agreement with Unilever. The board voted to take legal action last week at a meeting last week where five directors voted to authorize litigation and two appointees from Unilever dissented, Ben Jerry's said. Ben Jerry's stopped making ice cream in Israel. In a statement last week, Unilever said that Ben Jerry's board and its independent board were given the right to make decisions about its social mission. It maintained that the parent company reserved primary responsibility for financial and operational decisions, and therefore has the right to enter this arrangement. In a statement Wednesday, a Unilever spokeswoman reiterated that it had the right to enter the arrangement. The deal has already closed and it won't comment on pending litigation, the representative said. In its statement last week, Unilever said that it had conducted a review of its business there over several months, including with the Israeli government. Unilever has used the opportunity of the past year to listen to the views on this complex and sensitive matter, and believes this is the best outcome for Ben Jerry's in Israel.