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Ben & Jerry’s Accuses Parent Company Unilever of Firing CEO Over Political Posts, Anti-Israel Activism

Tubs of ice cream are seen as a laborer works at a Ben & Jerry’s factory in Be’er Tuvia, Israel, July 20, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Ben & Jerry’s has accused parent company Unilever of firing its CEO in retaliation for the ice cream producer’s political activism on social media, which includes calling for a permanent ceasefire to end the Israel-Hamas war.
Ben & Jerry’s — which was founded in 1978 by Jewish childhood friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield — and five directors of its independent board filed a lawsuit against Unilever and its US subsidiary, the New York-based corporation Conopco, in federal court in November 2024, claiming the companies are censoring its public advocacy. The ice-cream maker accused Unilever, a conglomerate based in London, and Conopco of violating its 2000 merger agreement, which created the independent board and gave it “primary responsibility for Social Mission Priorities and the Essential Integrity of the Brand.” Ben & Jerry’s has a history of outspoken advocacy on topics of social justice and human rights, including climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, and Black Lives Matter.
The Vermont-based ice cream company filed an amended complaint in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday that accused Unilever and Conopco of continuing to censor its political posts on social media. In one recent instance, Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever “blocked” the company from posting a message in solidarity with pro-Hamas activist and former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil. Ben & Jerry’s wanted to write in support of free speech and link to a petition for Khalil’s release after he was arrested earlier this month by US authorities in accordance with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump cracking down on campus antisemitism and supporters of terrorist groups. Khalil’s deportation is pending a legal challenge by his lawyers.
Ben & Jerry’s also claimed Unilever stopped it from posting in December 2023 in support of a ceasefire to end the Israel-Hamas war that started two months earlier, after the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel. Unilever also allegedly stopped Ben & Jerry’s from posting on social media in support of Palestinian refugees in May 2024 because of the inappropriate timing of the message, since it would have coincided with an Iranian missile attack on Israel. Another claim is that Unilever did not let Ben & Jerry’s post in support of anti-Israel campus protests, which often turned violent, and their First Amendment rights in June 2024. Unilever’s response was that it had “reasonable concerns about the need to condemn the violence associated with the protests and support rights of Jewish students as well.”
“Unilever’s suppression of Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission has reached startling new levels of oppressiveness,” Ben & Jerry’s stated in its updated complaint this week. It also claimed Unilever was waging a “campaign of professional reprisals,” which led to the firing of Ben & Jerry’s CEO David Stever, who assumed the position in May 2023 after being a longtime tour guide for the company. Under Stever’s leadership, the company “outperformed Unilever’s ice cream portfolio” and was ranked #2 on the Brand 500 Authenticity Index in 2023 and 2024, according to Ben & Jerry’s.
“Contrary to their obligations under Section 6.14, Unilever has repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry’s personnel, including CEO David Stever, should they fail to comply with Unilever’s efforts to silence the Social Mission. This month … Unilever followed through with their threats,” the lawsuit further stated.
Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever informed its board of directors about Stever’s firing on March 3, without following protocol outlined in the merger agreement, which says Unilever must consult with an advisory committee from the board before making decisions about the removal of a CEO. Ben & Jerry’s is accusing Unilever of removing Stever because of his “commitment to Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Essential Brand Integrity and his willingness to collaborate in good faith with the Independent Board, rather than any genuine concerns regarding his performance history.”
“Unilever has repeatedly failed to recognize and respect the Independent Board’ primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Brand Integrity, including threatening Ben & Jerry’s personnel should the company speak out regarding issues which that Unilever prefers to censor,” stated the amended complaint this week. The lawsuit alleges that Unilever executives previously criticized Stever in his January 2025 performance review for “repeatedly acquiesce[ing] to the demands of the Independent Social Mission Board” by permitting certain social media posts.
Ben & Jerry’s wants the court to order Unilever to “prospectively respect and acknowledge” its independent board and its authority. It also wants Unilever to comply with the merger agreement and its policy regarding the appointment and firing of a CEO.
Ben & Jerry’s also claimed in its lawsuit this week that Unilever has violated its settlement agreement with the ice cream company by blocking its donations to two anti-Israel organizations: Jewish Voice for Peace and the Council on American Islamic Relations last year. Ben & Jerry’s is asking the court to order Unilever to pay the company $5 million that it will then disbursement to human rights and humanitarian organizations of its choosing.
Unilever defended itself by saying that it “exercised its right to withhold consent to donate” after researching JVP and CAIR, and discovering that both groups have made “made inflammatory comments” about the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Israel.
A plaintiff included in the lawsuit against Unilever is Anuradha Mittal, chairman of Ben & Jerry’s independent board of directors. When Bloomberg News previously visited her office, it reported that it is decorated with a “Free Palestine” placard and a poster of two Palestinian men embracing next to a barbed wire fence. The poster included a message in Arabic that said, “Support the Intifada.” In 2018, on Israel’s Independence Day, Mittal tweeted, “The catastrophe continues #Nakba70 years later #palestine bleeds Boycott Divest Sanctions #israel.”
On Wednesday, Unilever filed a motion to dismiss Ben and Jerry’s complaint. The British conglomerate claimed in part that Ben & Jerry’s independent board members do not have the right to bring lawsuits on behalf of the company. Also, Ben & Jerry’s did not allege that it suffered any damages as a result of Unilever’s alleged breach of the settlement agreement, Unilever added.
Unilever noted that its issues with Ben & Jerry’s are a “direct result” of the board’s decision to get involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and share its opinions so publicly “without any regard to the negative impact” on both companies. Unilever insisted that if anything, Ben & Jerry’s decision in 2021 to stop selling its products in Israeli territories resulted in “severe consequences” for both companies.
In July 2020, Ben & Jerry’s independent board unanimously passed a resolution to end distribution of Ben & Jerry’s products in eastern Jerusalem and in the West Bank. The company made the announcement a year later in July 2021, saying in a released statement: “We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The announcement led to “multiple lawsuits” in the US and Israel targeting Unilever for being in violation of laws against the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, as well as accusations of antisemitism, “severe” sanctions, and the divestment of “hundreds of millions of dollars” in Unilever’s stock, Unilever claimed in its motion to dismiss on Wednesday.
“Unilever … continues — to this day — to suffer the consequences of that decision. B&J’s and/or Unilever still remain on at least nine states’ anti-BDS lists and Indonesia has a ‘fatwah’ on Unilever. These are just two examples of the world-wide response to the Board’s decision that have negatively impacted B&J’s and Unilever,” the company stated. “Unilever continues to support B&J’s and its social advocacy work. Over time, the social mission of B&J’s shifted, but in recent years it has come to a head as B&J’s seeks to advocate for one-sided, highly controversial, and polarizing topics that put Unilever, B&J’s, and their employees at risk.”
In 2022, Unilever sold its Ben & Jerry’s property rights to a local distributor in Israel, who resumed selling the ice cream products in eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank with Hebrew and Arabic labeling. Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever for its actions. The 2022 lawsuit ended with a settlement agreement that requires Unilever to “respect and acknowledge the Ben & Jerry’s Independent Board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Essential Brand Integrity” and “work in good faith with the Independent Board to ensure that both are protected and furthered.”
The post Ben & Jerry’s Accuses Parent Company Unilever of Firing CEO Over Political Posts, Anti-Israel Activism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Anti-Israel Bias in UK Hospitals Alarms Jewish Patients, Fueling Fears of Global Trend

University College London Hospital. Photo: Tagishsimon via Wikimedia Commons
Two recent incidents at hospitals in the UK fit a troubling pattern of Jews feeling unsafe due to medical professionals expressing antisemitism or even outright threats of death against Israelis.
The University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH Trust) has issued an apology following a patient’s complaints about the placement of anti-Israel posters at a facility.
“I’m an outpatient but God forbid in other circumstances to feel so vulnerable already and be surrounded by hostility would be so scary,” the unnamed female patient told the group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), fearful of receiving subpar treatment if the hospital staff discovered she was Jewish. “I shouldn’t have to remove my Star of David necklace to go to a hospital visit.”
The poster read:
Israel is starving and killing Palestinians in Gaza.
Children are being slaughtered beyond measure.
We have a voice, they don’t.
We are the generation that can influence the system & government.
Please do your own research and come to your own conclusions. Do not let the mainstream media influence you. It is poison. Zionism is Poison.
People are being killed, just to show the world what is happening, see for yourself:
@eye.on.palestine
@lowkeyonline @Wearethepeace
@hossam_shbat @anasjamal44
If you can’t lift the injustice, at least tell everyone about it.
Free Palestine.
End Zionism.
David Probert, chief executive of UCLH Trust, released a statement on Sunday to UKLFI.
“Firstly, I would like to apologize on behalf of UCLH for the distress and upset caused by these posters. At UCLH, we value diversity and inclusivity, and we are committed to providing a fair and non-discriminatory service to all individuals, regardless of background,” Probert stated. “Following receipt of your letter, I promptly made internal enquiries and was informed that the posters were initially noticed last week. This matter was immediately treated as an incident, and all the posters were removed without delay.”
Probert added, “Senior members of staff conducted a walk-around to ensure no further posters remained. Additionally, the department’s newsletter addressed the incident, reminding staff of the Trust’s policy against displaying political messages and encouraging vigilance in identifying and removing any similar materials. Security personnel have also been instructed to remain alert.”
Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, said that her organization welcomed the hospital’s taking down of the posters.
“We welcome UCLH’s prompt, proactive, and constructive engagement with this issue. UCLH’s actions will help preserve dignity, equality, neutrality, and respect within NHS spaces, particularly for Jewish patients seeking medical care,” she said in a statement.
Another instance of anti-Israel rhetoric at UK hospitals involves midwife Fatimah Mohamied, who resigned from her position after UKLFI highlighted her anti-Israel social media posts. Mohamied has now filed a claim against Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, alleging a violation of her rights.
“I have been subjected to a concerted and targeted effort to intimidate, harass, and punish me into silence for my Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Zionism,” Mohamied said. “I am taking legal action against my former employer to finally seek accountability for a campaign of harassment against me in the midst of a live genocide perpetrated by the Israeli state — I will not accept the attempts to silence me and those like me.”
Mohamied added, “Health=care workers in the NHS have the right to critique a colonial political ideology that has upheld an illegal occupation for decades and is responsible for violating universal values of health.”
Examples of Mohamied’s posts include her declaration “hell yeah!!!” on Oct. 8, 2023, one day after the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, as she reshared the statement “Palestinians have a right to resist their occupation-we have a right to support them. It’s that simple.”
She also wrote on Oct. 7, 2023, that “Palestinian women have birthed under blockade and seige [sic] This is apartheid and like all apartheid, no justice or dignity can be found.” The post was in response to another social media user defending Hamas’s atrocities as a justified response to Israeli actions.
In another online comment, Mohamied wrote, “The problem lies in using Jewish cultural safety as a smokescreen to propagate colonialism, occupation, apartheid, and genocide as somehow acceptable. The problem here are the Zionist speakers you hold no qualm or shame to platform. There is no neutrality in degradation, there is no balance in ignoring opposition to Zionists, there is no innocence in hosting Zionists.”
Liana Wood, a partner at the legal firm Leigh Day representing Mohamied, said that the trust’s “referrals against Fatimah, made a year after she had stopped working for them, were an entirely disproportionate response to her lawful expressions of belief on her personal blog and social media accounts.” She added that “Fatimah’s case, which has parallels with other cases we have seen recently in the NHS, highlights the need for employers to resist pressure from lobby groups in such cases, and to carefully consider any potential infringement on an individual’s rights before taking action against them.”
These instances in the UK track with other reports from Jews around the world expressing discomfort with health-care providers’ antipathy toward Israel manifesting as violent threats.
In the Netherlands, for example, police opened an investigation into Batisma Chayat Sa’id, a nurse who allegedly stated she would administer lethal injections to Israeli patients.
Sa’id denied making the comments. “It seems someone is pretending to be me, posting false and defamatory statements,” she said. “I want to make it clear — I hold no hatred toward Jews or any people, race, religion, or identity.”
Last year, however, an account under her name also posted threatening messages aimed at Jewish people, including “Your time will come — don’t spare anyone,” and another in which she described the burial of Israelis in Gaza as “a dream come true.”
The nurse’s alleged threat mirrors a similar incident in Australia, in which video showed two nurses — Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh — posing as doctors and making inflammatory statements.
The widely circulated footage showed Abu Lebdeh declaring she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and instead kill them, while Nadir made a throat-slitting gesture and claimed he had already killed many.
“Now they actually brag online about killing Israeli patients,” Shira Nussdorf, a US-born Jewish woman who moved from Israel to Australia six years ago, told The Algemeiner earlier this year when the video first emerged. “I don’t know how safe I would feel giving birth at that hospital.”
Following the incident, New South Wales authorities in Australia suspended their nursing registrations and banned them from working as nurses nationwide. They were also charged with federal offenses, including threatening violence against a group and using a carriage service to threaten, menace, and harass. If convicted, they face up to 22 years in prison.
A December 2024 study by the Data & Analytics Department of StandWithUs, a Jewish civil rights group, found that 40 percent of 645 Jewish American health-care professionals surveyed reported experiencing antisemitism in the workplace. A similar study of Canadian Jewish health workers conducted last year reached 80 percent.
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First Charter Aliyah Flight Since Hamas’s Oct. 7 Attack Brings 225 Newcomers to Israel

New olim disembark at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on the first charter aliyah flight since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, arriving to begin new lives in Israel. Photo: The Algemeiner
NEW YORK/TEL AVIV — Defying the uncertainty of war, 225 Jews arrived in Tel Aviv on the first charter aliyah flight since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, determined to start new lives and contribute to the country they now call home.
On Wednesday morning, Nefesh B’Nefesh — a nonprofit that promotes and facilitates aliyah from the United States and Canada — brought its 65th charter flight from New York to Tel Aviv.
Aliyah refers to the process of Jews immigrating to Israel.
With the most children yet on a single flight, this historic aliyah brought 45 families to their new homeland — 125 children among them, ranging from the youngest at 9 months to the oldest at 72.
Migrating from across the US and Canada, these newcomers and families are settling throughout Israel to build communities and begin new lives of service to the Jewish state. Among them are professionals in fields such as medicine, journalism, education, law, accounting, engineering, and many others.
During a farewell ceremony in New York, Nefesh B’Nefesh chairman and co-founder Tony Gelbart commended those on the flight, holding them up as examples of Jewish resilience and unity in the face of adversity
“You’re fulfilling your dream, but I believe you’re doing something even more important at this time,” Gelbart said in his speech.
“Not only are you helping Israel; you’re showing the world that Jews everywhere stand together and care for one another,” he continued.
Israeli Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer, who traveled to the US to see off the new olim (immigrants who moved to Israel) on their historic flight, also praised them for embarking on this new chapter in Israel.
“I want to thank each and every person who made the decision to make aliyah during the war. It strengthens our resilience and our solidarity, and I am truly proud of them,” Sofer told The Algemeiner.
“Since Oct. 7, we’ve seen that most people want to support Israel … but the highest form of solidarity is choosing to make aliyah,” the Israeli official said. “These individuals want to be part of what’s happening in Israel, make a meaningful difference, and stand with their people.”
Founded in 2002, Nefesh B’Nefesh is dedicated to “strengthening the State of Israel by facilitating aliyah, advancing national service and development, and promoting Zionist education.”
Nefesh B’Nefesh, working alongside Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth, and the Jewish National Fund-USA, helps olim become fully integrated members of Israeli society.
To this day, they have assisted nearly 100,000 olim in establishing thriving lives in Israel, guiding them through the aliyah process.
Those who decide to make aliyah receive comprehensive support to help them transition smoothly into their new life, including guidance through the immigration process, access to community programs, health-care assistance, and employment resources.
The Israeli government also provides a range of support and resources to ease the transition and adaptation for those taking this significant step, including housing subsidies and higher education incentives for young olim and professionals pursuing studies in Israel.
“I believe we’ll see an increase in the number of people making aliyah in the coming years. It won’t happen overnight, but it will be a gradual process,” Sofer told The Algemeiner. “The trend is clear, and there is growing interest among many in taking this step.”
“We’re seeing numbers rise year by year, especially from Western countries like the UK, France, and North America, and I expect that trend to continue,” the Israeli minister said.
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‘Pat Buchanan in a New Guise’: Trump Aide Sebastian Gorka Slams Tucker Carlson Over Anti-Israel Stance

Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the US president and senior director for counterterrorism at the White House National Security Council, at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC, Aug. 19, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
A senior aide to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday repudiated controversial political commentator Tucker Carlson for promoting what he described as an isolationist foreign policy that’s hostile to Israel, suggesting that Carlson is “repackaging” the ideology of infamous paleoconservative intellectual Pat Buchanan.
Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the White House National Security Council, made the comments while appearing for an event at the Hudson Institute, a prominent think tank in Washington, DC.
Moderator Michael Doran, a Hudson senior fellow and Middle East expert, asked Gorka to address the growth of anti-Israel, antisemitic sentiment on right-wing podcasts and social media.
“This wing of isolationism is nothing new. We had this 100 years ago, and this is just a poor, substandard repackaging of neo-Buchananite isolationism,” Gorka said in response.
“The Tucker right wing is basically, you know, Pat Buchanan in a new guise. It is actually a shallower version. Pat is far smarter than this version of isolationism,” Gorka continued.
Carlson, a right-wing podcaster and former Fox News host, has repeatedly argued on his podcast that the US should withdraw from costly foreign entanglements and focus on domestic issues. That perspective has led him to sharply criticize US support for Israel, which he has framed as an unnecessary drain on American resources and a distraction from pressing challenges at home.
Carlson has often warned that Washington’s commitments to its allies, particularly in the Middle East, risk dragging the United States into wars that he believes serve little purpose for the average American family. His rhetoric has placed him at odds with more traditional conservatives who view support for Israel as central to US foreign policy.
In June, Carlson clashed with US Sen. Ted Cruzhttps://www.algemeiner.com/2025/06/18/ted-cruz-defends-aipac-foreign-influence-claims-accuses-tucker-carlson-antisemitism/ (R-Texas) over the latter’s support for Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group that promotes bipartisan support for a strong US-Israel relationship. During the tense interview, Cruz called out Carlson over his “obsession” with the world’s lone Jewish state.
“You’re asking, ‘Why are the Jews controlling our foreign policy?’” Cruz stated. “If you’re not an antisemite, give me another reason why the obsession is Israel.”
Carlson recently came under fire for interviewing Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian but not pushing back against his claims or challenging the leader on Iran’s nuclear program or human rights record.
Meanwhile, Buchanan regularly courted controversy with provocative statements depicting the so-called “Israel lobby” as a sinister force swaying US policy — even claiming Capitol Hill is “Israeli occupied territory.” He has also cast doubt on established Holocaust history, minimizing atrocities at Treblinka, and framed Jewish influence in ways many critics condemned as antisemitic. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) branded him an “unrepentant bigot” and claimed that he “repeatedly demonizes Jews and minorities and openly affiliates with white supremacists.”
Gorka dismissed the vocal chorus of isolationist, anti-Israel conservatives as “probably half a dozen very loud people on Twitter [now officially called X] and Rumble.” He emphasized that isolationist ideologues such as Carlson are not representative of the broader conservative political base.
“I mean, you get out of the miasma, the cesspit that is social media and you talk to representative MAGA [Make America Great Again] of the 80 million that put the president back in the White House,” Gorka said. “They don’t think that we should pull down the shutters on the Pacific and the Atlantic coast. They don’t think that Israel is the reason for [Hamas’s attack on Israel on] October the 7th. They actually have a very special place in their heart for Israel, and they don’t think that hospitals being bombed in Ukraine is a good thing.”
Gorka added that the Americans people will not be easily swayed by the isolationist wing of the conservative movement.
“One of the most trenchant, indicative characteristics for me of the American people is common sense. They understand who was responsible for October the 7th. They understand who Vladimir Putin is,” Gorka said.
Doran argued during the event that the anti-Israel wing of conservatism maintains “no hold” on Trump.
“It’s clear that that President Trump is not listening to them, making decisions in a completely different way,” Doran said. “I mean, he basically signaled it with that Truth Social posting where he said, ‘Who’s going to tell kooky Tucker Carlson that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon?”