Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever PLC of “silencing” its support for Palestinian human rights, alleging that the parent company prevented it from issuing statements in support of a ceasefire in Gaza and donating to a U.S. group critical of the Israeli government.

In a lawsuit filed in the Manhattan federal court, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. claimed that Unilever’s alleged interference violated a December 2022 settlement enshrining the Ben & Jerry’s Board of Directors with primary authority over the ice cream maker’s “social mission and brand integrity.”