Ben Cohen, co-founder of ice cream company Ben & Jerry's, announced this week that he's creating a new watermelon-forward ice cream flavor to call for "a permanent peace in Palestine" and for "repairing all the damage that was done there." The BBC explains that the watermelon has become "a symbol for solidarity with Palestinians" because the fruit's colors — red, green, black, and white — are so similar to those of the Palestinian flag. Cohen announced an Instagram video, where he explained his motivation for creating the flavor:
The scale of suffering of the Palestinian people over the last two years has been unimaginable. So the ceasefire is a welcome relief, but there's much more work to do to rebuild. Palestinians are still living under occupation, still recovering from years of suffering, especially Palestinian children. They deserve dignity, safety, and the same rights that every human being should have . . . I'm making a watermelon flavored ice cream that calls for permanent peace in Palestine and calls for repairing all the damage that was done there. And I'm doing this to shine a light on the experience of Palestinian people and children in particular. So the world does not look the other way.
He also explained that he's making the flavor on his own because Unilever, Ben & Jerry's parent company, blocked the company from creating one. Cohen states:
A while back, Ben and Jerry's tried to make a flavor to call for peace in Palestine, to stand for justice and dignity for everyone, like Ben and Jerry's always has. But they weren't allowed to. They were stopped by Unilever/Magnum, the company that owns Ben and Jerry's. Just like when Ben and Jerry's tried to stop selling ice cream in the occupied territories, they were blocked again by their parent company. So I'm doing what they couldn't.
BBC provides further details:
Ben & Jerry's is known for its activism on social issues and has consistently spoken out on political, environmental and humanitarian matters – including the Israel-Gaza conflict.
A spokesperson for the Magnum Ice Cream Company, Unilever's ice cream arm, said it had determined that "now is not the right time to invest in developing this product."
Mr Cohen's statement deepens the long-drawn dispute between the world-famous ice cream maker and Unilever, the British packaged goods giant which has owned Ben & Jerry's since 2000 . . .
In 2021, Ben & Jerry's refused to sell its products in areas occupied by Israel. Its Israeli operation was sold by Unilever to a local licensee, allowing its ice cream to continue being sold in the occupied West Bank.
The new watermelon ice cream will be developed under "Ben's Best," the brand Cohen established in 2016 to create "Bernie's Back" ice cream, in support of Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. According to BBC, Ben's Best highlights causes that the company "has been barred from addressing publicly" by Unilever.
In the Instagram announcement, Cohen asks the public for suggestions on what other ingredients should be added to the watermelon sorbet and requests help with naming the flavor and designing the packaging. He says:
Revolutions are creative. Let's see some of that creativity!
Folks in the comments have offered some terrific name suggestions for the new flavor, like "Sweet Resistance." They've also provided some ideas for some delicious additions to the watermelon base, like honey, pine nut crunch swirl, olive oil, tahini swirl, rose water, orange blossom water, and dates. Many commenters also suggested ingredients that would reflect the colors of the Palestinian flag, including pomegranate molasses, strawberries, and raspberries, pistachios, mint, vanilla ice cream, and dark chocolate chunks.
Sounds scrumptious! If you have suggestions for ingredients or package designs, head over to the post and get in touch with Cohen.
Previously:
• Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream is apparently now just Ben's Ice Cream
• Ben and Jerry's cookbook is still the best for ice cream
• Ben & Jerry's on Black Lives Matter and the police killing of George Floyd: We Must Dismantle White Supremacy
• Ben & Jerry's was always political — but now its CEO is fired for it, says lawsuit
