Ben & Jerry's Co-Founder Launching Palestine Dessert After Parent Company Blocked Him

By Chris Spiker From Daily Voice

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen is creating a special sorbet to call for peace in Palestine after the ice cream brand's parent company wouldn't allow it.

Cohen announced his plan to sell a watermelon-flavored ice cream in an Instagram video on Tuesday, Oct. 28. The flavor is inspired by the fruit that's a symbol of solidarity because its colors match the Palestinian flag.

In his video, Cohen called his new sorbet "something that's actually pretty important."

"The scale of suffering of the Palestinian people over the last two years has been unimaginable," he said. "The ceasefire is a welcome relief, but there's much more work to do to rebuild. Palestinians are still living under occupation, still recovering from years of suffering, especially Palestinian children. They deserve dignity, safety, and the same rights that every human being should have."

Cohen said Ben & Jerry's previously tried to create a flavor to show its support for Palestine, but was blocked by Unilever, the British conglomerate that owns the ice cream brand.

"Just like when Ben and Jerry's tried to stop selling ice cream in the occupied territories, they were blocked again by their parent company, so I'm doing what they couldn't," Cohen said.

The video follows co-founder Jerry Greenfield's resignation in September after he accused Unilever of silencing the long-standing activism of Ben & Jerry's. Cohen has called for Unilever to "free" Ben & Jerry's and was arrested in May for interrupting a Senate hearing on US military funding to Israel.

Cohen asked fans to help him design the sorbet's flavor, packaging, and name.

"Revolutions are creative," he said. "Let's see some of that creativity."

Cohen and Greenfield, both 74, founded Ben & Jerry’s in Burlington, Vermont, in 1978. The Long Island natives expanded with their first franchised location in nearby Shelburne, VT, in 1981.

Ben & Jerry's ice cream is sold in more than 40 countries.