Ben & Jerry’s, an ice cream company with a commitment to social justice values including Palestine
Action Hour Recap Email
- Tue, Dec 16 2025 at 4:03 PM
Friday's Action Hour guest, Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's, created an online contest to design a pint of ice cream inspired by the Palestinian flag!
Dear Mark,
This Friday, we’ll hear from Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Lutheran theologian living in Palestine who will share his thoughts as we approach Christmas. We also have two exciting big news updates to share - a surprise gift for the holiday season!
Reminder: You can use this link to join every Friday at 12pm ET / 9am PT and you’ll also get an email with the link an hour before the Action Hour begins. The link for the agenda document doesn’t change week to week, so you can always access it!
Gaza Update
Yousef shared about how the Israeli “Yellow Line” in Gaza has become Gaza’s new unofficial border. The Israeli military shoots at Palestinians who cross the line or even enter an unmarked “buffer zone.” Yousef compared this to Israeli land theft in Gaza in 1949, when the “buffer zone” around the border became part of Israel. Yousef also spoke about the challenges people living in tents face during the winter storms, and the instability of many structures now used for shelter in Gaza damaged from continued bombings.
Every week Yousef gives an update on life and death in Gaza. You can find all of Yousef’s past Gaza updates on Gaza Unlocked including the update from last Friday.
Ben Cohen on Solidarity & Ice Cream
Last Friday, Ben Cohen, activist and co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, joined us on the Action Hour to discuss his activism and the campaign to Free Ben & Jerry’s.
Ben shared about founding Ben & Jerry’s with his friend Jerry Greenfield as an ice cream company with a commitment to social justice values. He said that sharing those values with their customer base was a big part of the brand’s success, and that he believed companies had a responsibility to take a stand in times of ethical crisis. That’s why in 2021, the Independent Board of Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop selling their ice cream in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. At that time, Ben & Jerry’s was owned by Unilever, which started censoring the Independent Board from taking action on issues like racial justice, free speech, and the genocide in Gaza.
Now, Ben & Jerry’s is owned by Magnum, which also censors Ben & Jerry’s social mission. Because of this censorship, Ben’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield resigned from the company. Ben shared that he had decided to stay at Ben & Jerry’s to work on getting a new board of investors that will allow the ice cream brand to stand up for its values.
That work is happening under a campaign called #FreeBenandJerrys. Ben asked us to support the campaign by signing an open letter to Magnum’s CEO and Board of Directors in support of independence for Ben & Jerry’s.
Ben also recently started an online contest to name and design a new flavor of ice cream inspired by the Palestinian flag. He shared that the winner of the contest was a watermelon sorbet with fresh mint leaves and chocolate shavings, called Freedom Fruit. Although he said the test batch was delicious, Ben & Jerry’s will only be able to sell this flavor once they are independent from Magnum, which continues to censor them from selling Freedom Fruit ice cream.
Ben’s creativity and steadfastness in standing up for his beliefs inspired us. Learn more about the campaign to Free Ben & Jerry’s, or follow Ben Cohen on social media.
Artist Corner
On Friday, we featured Sliman Mansour, a painter, sculptor, and leading figure in contemporary Palestinian art. He is also a co-founder of the New Visions artists’ movement. His work has been exhibited around the world. Mansour won a Prize for Arab Culture from UNESCO in 2019 for his work to highlight Arab and Palestinian culture.
How to Take Action Today
Contact your representatives. On Friday, we called our Representative and asked that they support H.Res.876. The bill, led by Rep. Tlaib, would declare Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide. Read the full text of the bill! Learn more about H.Res.876 and send an email in support of the resolution here. We also called our Senators in support of the bill. Senators could introduce a Senate companion, make a public statement in support of the bill, or lead a letter in support of its aims.
You can find the suggested script for calling on pages 4 and 5 in the agenda. To continue to make calls next week, phone the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. You can also use these email templates on refunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and blocking the bombs to Israel.
More Resources and Ways to Take ActionThank you for sharing this Action Hour invitation with your friends, family, and social networks and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and Twitter.
As always, we thank you for your support for our team’s emergency relief work in Gaza and our solidarity and organizing work here in the United States!
In solidarity,
Jennifer Bing
American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry Sreet
Philadelphia, PA 19102
United States
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