Israel accused of 'stealing' Ben & Jerry's ice cream

Israel accused of ‘stealing’ Ben & Jerry’s ice cream

Israel and Unilever reportedly collaborated in order to bypass a boycott call by the anti-genocide founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenstein called for an end to the sale of their products in Israel. Cohen was even arrested after disrupting a US Senate sitting to demand action to protect Palestinian children. But

In June 2026, the official ‘Israel’ X account posted (now deleted) a boast about a new flavour by the brand launching in Israel. The Israeli Haaretz newspaper posted about the ‘milk and honey’ flavour, complete with chocolate ‘stars of David’:

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Editing by Matan Oz

Video by Eden Mor pic.twitter.com/y7bnHwXs0u

— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) June 23, 2026

‘Stolen’ by Israel

Unhappy at the boycott call and under legal challenge from Israel, parent company Unilever sold part of the company to an Israeli licensee. The purchaser then boasted he would rename one of the brand’s signature flavours to “Judea and Samaria” – the colonial names for Gaza and the West Bank. The sale bypassed the principled boycott stand of the founders and the company’s operating board.

Media company Sovereign Media described the manoeuvre as a demonstration of how the pursuit of profit steamrolls right and wrong, even in the case of a boycott of genocide:

For many, the “Milk and Honey” flavour serves as a stark symbol of how, in the face of profit and geopolitical pressure, the moral mission any brand may have can be systematically dismantled.

Others were more blunt: