Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen was arrested at a Senate hearing while protesting against U.S. funding of the Israeli war against Hamas.
“Congress kills poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs and pays for it by kicking kids off Medicaid in the U.S.,” Mr. Cohen said as he was led away by U.S. Capitol Police.
He then said Congress needs to find a way to let food into Gaza.
The arrest was caught on video and posted on social media.
Gaza is under the control of Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and killed more than 1,000 people.
Mr. Cohen was charged with crowding and obstruction, a misdemeanor, while six others who also protested face stronger charges, including resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.
“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 ice cream tycoon wrote Thursday on X.
Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, told the BBC that “Ben Cohen takes stances as an activist citizen on issues he finds personally important. These actions are on his own as an individual and not on behalf of Ben & Jerry’s or Unilever.”
Mr. Cohen and fellow cofounder Jerry Greenfield are well known for their leftwing politics and activism. Even though they sold their eponymous ice cream company to Unilever in 2000, they also had an independent board established to try and ensure the brand kept its original values.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop selling in the Israeli-occupied territories in the West Bank, which is under the legal jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. A U.S. judge blocked an injunction by the brand to stop said sales, and Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever eventually settled.
Unilever sold the Ben & Jerry’s business concerns in Israel following local backlash and announced in March 2024 that it would be spinning off its ice cream unit entirely, including the brand.
The spin-off has not yet occurred, and in March, Ben & Jerry’s filed a new suit claiming that Unilever sacked CEO David Stever over the company’s progressive stands on political issues.
Unilever contended that it acted in good faith and abided by the 2000 agreement. The multinational corporation called for the suit to be dismissed last month.
