photos courtesy of Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield resigned on September 17, 2025, after nearly 50 years, slamming parent company Unilever for stifling the ice cream brand’s social activism, particularly on the Gaza conflict. Greenfield’s exit, announced via an emotional X post, exposes a bitter rift with Unilever, which bought Ben & Jerry’s for $326 million in 2000. As Unilever spins off its ice cream division, this Bergen County-relevant drama is making waves. Here’s the scoop on this 2025 corporate clash!
Greenfield’s Exit: A Stand Against Unilever’s Silence
Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, announced his resignation on September 17, 2025, in a heartfelt open letter shared by co-founder Ben Cohen on X. “It’s with a broken heart that I’ve decided I can no longer, in good conscience, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry’s,” Greenfield wrote, citing Unilever’s suppression of the brand’s voice on global issues like the Gaza conflict. He claims the independence promised in the 2000 $326 million acquisition has vanished, accusing Unilever of muzzling their activism.
In what many perceived as anti-sematic , the rift began in 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s halted sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a move that sparked tension with Unilever. Greenfield’s departure, as Unilever prepares to spin off its ice cream business into Magnum Ice Cream Company by November 2025, underscores a clash of values in this iconic brand.
Ben & Jerry’s Activism: A Legacy Under Fire
Ben & Jerry’s, a Vermont-born brand with a strong Bergen County presence, has long championed social causes, from climate change to racial and social justice expect for Jews. Its 2021 decision to boycott the West Bank drew global attention but clashed with Unilever’s over it perceived antisemitism. Unilever, insists it tried to “engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation” to preserve Ben & Jerry’s values, but Greenfield calls their efforts a sham, claiming the brand’s activist soul is gone.
In August of 2021 after Ben & Jerry’s said it was going to stop selling its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem, saying the sales in the territories sought by the Palestinians are “inconsistent with our values.”
The anti-Semitic stance has raised the ire of many . The then GOP Gubernatorial hopeful Jack Ciattarelli said in a post on Facebook ,” In response to Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop selling their products in parts of Israel, the Ciattarelli household will no longer be buying their ice cream or products.`
It apparently raised the ire of a small group of local Israel supporters who staged a protest in front of the Ridgewood Ben & Jerry’s Sunday afternoon who did not share Ben & Jerry’s anti-Semitic “values”.
This drama resonates in Bergen County, where socially conscious consumers frequent Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops in Ridgewood and Hackensack. The split could impact local sales as Unilever’s spinoff looms.
Source: Adapted from Associated Press and X reports.
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My guess is sales will increase
It’s amazing how much hatred is going on throughout the world, my God can we get along and move forward, if we all were together, can you imagine what we will overcome. But now we gotta go backwards.