Ben Jerrys cofounder says USfunded slaughter of Gaza not American way
One of the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream said that he could not call himself an American without putting his “body on the line” after he was arrested during a Senate health committee hearing for protesting against US support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
During Wednesday's hearing, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert J Kennedy Jr looked visibly alarmed after shouting erupted shortly after he testified about how the agency’s 2026 budget aligns with President Donald Trump’s agenda.
As police dragged protestors out of the room, Cohen could barely be heard above the commotion, saying, “Congress pays for bombs that kill children in Gaza”.
A Capitol Hill police officer grabbed Cohen by the arm, almost knocking the 74-year-old off balance, and forcibly pulled him out of the Senate hearing.
As Cohen was arrested and led away in zip ties, an unidentified woman could be heard on a video asking, “Ben, why are you getting arrested?”
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Cohen responded, “Congress kills poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs and pays for it by kicking kids off Medicaid in the US.”
The woman continued, asking: “Ben, what are you calling for the Congress and senators to do for Gaza?”
“They need to let food into Gaza,” Cohen said as he was led away by a police officer. “They need to let food to starving kids.”
In a post on X on Thursday, Cohen said, “I can't call myself an American and not put my body on the line.
“For me, our government-funded destruction and slaughter of families living in Gaza is an attack on justice, common decency, and what I had thought was the American way. The American way that Superman used to defend, along with Truth and Justice.”
Israel has blocked the entry of food, water, and humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip since 2 March. Food has run out, and Palestinians are being subjected to famine-like conditions. People were resorting to eating animal feed even before the blockade due to food shortages.
Capitol Hill Police told Middle East Eye that Cohen was charged with crowding, obstructing, or incommoding, adding that seven arrests were made in total, with charges varying from assaulting a police officer to resisting arrest.
Ben & Jerry’s did not respond to a request for comment.
Politics at Ben & Jerry's
While this is not the first time that Ben & Jerry's has been vocal about Palestine or other political and social issues, it appears to be the first time that Cohen has been arrested for standing up for his beliefs.
In November, Ben & Jerry's sued its parent company, Unilever, over accusations that it silenced the ice cream maker's attempts to express support for a ceasefire in Gaza and support for Palestinian refugees.
In the lawsuit, Ben & Jerry's said Unilever breached the terms of a previous agreement that gave the ice cream company responsibility over its "social mission".
Despite this, Ben & Jerry's said it was silenced four separate times when it tried calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, advocating for the halting of US military aid to Israel, supporting university students protesting against Israel's war on Gaza, and supporting the safe passage of Palestinian refugees from Gaza to the UK.
"Ben & Jerry's has on four occasions attempted to publicly speak out in support of peace and human rights," according to the lawsuit. "Unilever has silenced each of these efforts."
In the lawsuit, Ben & Jerry's also said Peter ter Kulve, Unilever's head of ice cream, said he was concerned that the company being vocal on the war in Gaza could lead to a "continued perception of anti-Semitism".
According to the legal filing, Unilever is required to give Ben & Jerry's $5m so the brand can donate to human rights groups of its choosing.
Ben & Jerry's selected two organisations, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and the San Francisco chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, but Unilever objected. The lawsuit states that Unilever said JVP was "too critical of the Israeli government".
In March, in an amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of continuing to censor its social media posts, including about Black History Month, and of firing its CEO, David Stever, in retaliation for its social media activism.
In April, Semafor reported that Unilever was auditing the finances of Ben & Jerry’s charitable foundation, focusing on its grants to progressive and pro-Palestinian groups.
Tensions between Ben & Jerry's and Unilever have brewed for years and can be traced back to 2021, when Ben & Jerry's said it would stop selling its products in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. It said at the time that selling its products in those settlements was “inconsistent” with the company's values.
The move was met with fierce opposition from Israeli lawmakers, American lawmakers, and state governments that threatened to withdraw their investments in Unilever.
Following the backlash, Unilever announced it would sell Ben & Jerry's business interests in Israel to businessman Avi Zinger, the current Israeli licensee of the ice cream brand. The sale would effectively reverse the decision made by the company to stop operating in the occupied West Bank.
To stop this from happening, Ben & Jerry's filed a lawsuit against Unilever to block the sale of its business interests in Israel. Eventually, the two sides reached a settlement in December 2022.
Ben & Jerry's new lawsuit stems from this 2022 settlement, which has continued to remain confidential.
"Our heart goes out to all victims of the tragic events in the Middle East. We reject the claims made by B&J’s social mission board, and we will defend our case very strongly," Unilever said in a statement to Reuters.
"We would not comment further on this legal matter," it added.
Ben & Jerry's says that it uses its ice cream to make the world a better place and identifies several issues it focuses on, including racial justice and climate justice.
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