The co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s have accused father or mother firm Unilever of usurping its impartial board because the ice cream model fights a court docket case within the US over gross sales in occupied Palestinian territories.
Speaking publicly for the primary time concerning the lawsuit, Ben & Jerry’s founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield stated the UK client items large broke an acquisition clause that offers the ice cream firm impartial management of its social mission.
“Unilever has usurped their authority and reversed a decision that was made. And we can’t allow that to happen,” Cohen stated Sunday in an interview with MSNBC. “That is essentially saying, ‘well, the independent board does not matter.’”
The feedback escalated a battle between Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever that’s enjoying out in a US district court docket. In June, Unilever offered the Israeli enterprise of the ice cream maker to an area licensee.
The sale was designed to quell an issue that engulfed the corporate when Ben & Jerry’s stated final yr it could halt ice cream gross sales within the West Bank and East Jerusalem in obvious protest at Israel’s occupation.
This July, Ben & Jerry’s filed a lawsuit alleging the licence sale violated the phrases of Unilever’s 2000 takeover, which allowed the ice cream maker to retain an impartial board in a novel association that gave it autonomy to deal with social points.
“The independent board has authority over the social mission of the company,” Greenfield stated on MSNBC. “In order for us to sell the company, it was essential that we have this unique agreement in place . . . The agreement lasts in perpetuity. And so it must be respected.”
Neither Cohen nor Greenfield is on Ben & Jerry’s board. In August, Ben & Jerry’s misplaced a request for a preliminary injunction to dam Unilever’s sale to permit its merchandise to be offered or distributed within the West Bank. Ben & Jerry’s should file an amended criticism by September 27, the court docket stated.
Asked about allegations of anti-Semitism following Ben & Jerry’s announcement final yr, Cohen, who stated he’s Jewish, replied: “If I care about the people in Palestine just as much as I care about the people in Israel, is that anti-Semitic?”
“There are mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers in Palestine that I care about,” he stated. “I care about their human rights.”
Unilever didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark exterior regular enterprise hours.
Source: www.ft.com