Corporate giant Unilever has reportedly “cut millions” from the funding of the charitable foundation operated by its subsidiary Ben & Jerry’s amid an audit of the brand’s donations to pro-Palestinian organisations.
The British-based multinational launched an investigation into the foundation’s activities as part of plan to spin-off its ice cream division as a separate company.
The probe, announced in April, was set to focus particularly on donations by the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation to progressive and pro-Palestinian groups, according to Semafor.
The foundation’s distribution of $5 million, largely to left-wing causes, and the vocal pro-Palestine activism of Ben & Jerry’s executives have reportedly sparked tensions with its parent company.
These were reportedly intensified by Ben & Jerry’s announcement that it would cease trading in the West Bank over ethical concerns in 2021.
However, an internal email published by the same outlet has reportedly revealed that Unilever’s investigation was met with significant resistance, prompting the company to cut off funding.
In a missive to Ben & Jerry’s executives, Peter ter Kulve, Business Group President of the ice cream division, claimed that the foundation’s trustees “have continued to resist basic oversight”.
"It represents a marked departure from the norms of charitable organisations, for whom transparency is typically a bedrock operating principle,” he added.
But ter Kulve also emphasised that Unilever had “consistently sought to accommodate concerns” from the foundation and praised the foundation for playing “a meaningful role in advancing the Ben & Jerry’s social mission”.
It comes after Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, was arrested during a pro-Palestine protests at a congressional hearing in May.
The demonstration was staged during a meeting of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which was hearing testimony from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.
As Kennedy was speaking, activists stood up from the public gallery and began yelling slogans, causing the US health czar to visibly flinch in shock.
The chants included “RFK kills people with AIDs”, “when Bobby lies, children die” and “anti-vax, anti-science, anti-America,” in reference to accusations that Kennedy is an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, which he has repeatedly denied.
Cohen, though, used the occasion to voice his opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza, claiming: “Congress kills poor kids in Gaza and pays for it by kicking kids off Medicaid in the US.”
