Ben & Jerry’s sues Unilever, to prevent the sale of an Israeli company

• Ben & Jerry’s sues parent Unilever to block the sale of its Israeli business to a local licensee.
• The company says it is inconsistent with its values to sell ice cream in the occupied West Bank.
• The dispute highlights challenges facing brands taking a stand on Israeli settlements in the area.
• Most countries consider the settlements illegal.
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Ben and Jerry’s on Tuesday sued its parent Unilever Plc (ULVR.L) to hinder the offer of its Israeli business to a nearby licensee, saying it was conflicting with its qualities to sell its frozen yogurt in the involved West Bank.

The objection documented in the U.S. Locale Court in Manhattan said the deal declared on June 29 took steps to sabotage the respectability of Ben and Jerry’s image, which Ben and Jerry’s board held autonomy to safeguard when Unilever gained the organization in 2000.

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An order against moving the business and related brand names to Avi Zinger, who runs American Quality Products Ltd, was fundamental to “safeguard the brand and social uprightness Ben and Jerry’s has gone through many years assembling,” the protest said.

Ben and Jerry’s said its board cast a ballot 5-2 to sue, with the two Unilever nominees disagreeing.

Unilever, in a proclamation, said it doesn’t examine forthcoming prosecution, however, it reserved the option to sell the contested business and the exchange had proactively shut.

“It’s settled,” Zinger’s legal counselor Alyza Lewin said in a different proclamation. The deal settled Zinger’s own claim in March against Ben and Jerry’s for declining to reestablish his permit.

The debate features difficulties confronting customer brands standing firm on Israeli settlements in the involved West Bank.

Most nations consider the settlements unlawful. In April 2019, Airbnb Inc (ABNB.O) switched a five-month-old choice to quit posting properties in the settlements.

Last July, Ben and Jerry’s said it would end deals in the involved West Bank and portions of East Jerusalem, and cut off its three-decade relationship with Zinger.

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Israel denounced the move, and a few Jewish gatherings blamed Ben and Jerry’s for being hostile to Semitism. A few financial backers, including something like seven U.S. states, stripped their Unilever possessions.

Unilever has in excess of 400 brands including Dove cleanser, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Knorr soup, and Vaseline skin cream.

Ben and Jerry’s was established in a revamped corner store in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.

As of now not engaged with Ben and Jerry’s activities, they wrote in the New York Times last July that they upheld Israel however went against its “unlawful occupation” of the West Bank.