Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield steps down after being 'silenced' by Unilever over stance on Gaza

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has left the company after 47 years, accusing the brand's parent company Unilever of silencing Ben & Jerry's social mission regarding Gaza.

Ben Cohen, Greenfield's former business partner, shared the news on X.

"His legacy deserves to be true to our values, not silenced," said Cohen.

"It's with a broken heart that I've decided I can no longer, in good conscience ... remain an employee of Ben & Jerry's," said Greenfield in a statement.

He described the choice as “one of the hardest and most painful decisions” he had ever made.

Greenfield said that the US ice cream company was given the freedom to pursue their values as part of their agreement with Unilever.

"It's profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence ... is gone," said the co-founder.

"Ben & Jerry's has been silenced, sidelined for the fear of upsetting those in power."

"If the company couldn't stand up for the things we believed, then it wasn't worth being a a company at all."

In 2021, the ice cream company announced that they would stop selling ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, saying it did not align with their values.

Additionally, the brand has sued Unilever, accusing the parent company of taking efforts to silence them.

In May, Cohen was arrested for disrupting a United States Senate hearing in protest of the country's support for Israel.

After 47 years, Jerry has made the difficult decision to step down from the company we built together. I’m sharing his words as he resigns from Ben & Jerry’s. His legacy deserves to be true to our values, not silenced by @MagnumGlobal #FreeBenAndJerrys pic.twitter.com/EZXGRjs76a

— Ben Cohen (@YoBenCohen) September 17, 2025