- Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen was arrested while protesting in a Senate hearing.
- He was protesting about U.S. military aid to Israel and Gaza's humanitarian conditions.
- The brand has long been known for being outspoken on political and social issues.
Ben Cohen, co-founder of the popular ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, was arrested while protesting in the U.S. Senate about military aid to Israel and humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Cohen was a part of a group of protesters that interrupted a Senate health committee hearing as Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was promoting President Donald Trump’s budget proposal.
The group shouted and held up signs as Kennedy spoke, until they were escorted out of the hearing, per BBC.
Cohen was charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in prison and a $500 fine if convicted.
There were six other people arrested during the demonstration on charges including assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
According to The New York Times, Cohen was released from custody on Wednesday.
What Ben Cohen said about his arrest
On Wednesday evening, Cohen posted on X a video of him being escorted out of the hearing by police.
In the video, Cohen can be heard saying, “I said that Congress is paying to bomb poor kids in Gaza and paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the U.S.”
He later posted again on X about his protest in the Senate.
As a part of his protest, Cohen called on lawmakers to put more effort into getting food into Gaza, where the United Nations and other aid agencies have reported a famine is looming.
Ben & Jerry’s political history
Since the company’s founding in 1978 by Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Ben & Jerry’s has been known for taking public stances on social and political issues.
According to BBC, the brand has backed campaigns on issues such as LGBTQ+ rights and climate change.
One of the issues Cohen and Greenfield have been outspoken about is criticizing Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. After a merger with Unilever in 2000, the co-founders have given up most involvement with the company, but they and the company have remained vocal on issues.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s said it would end sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank because it was “inconsistent” with the brand’s values, per The New York Times.
Both Cohen and Greenfield are Jewish, and both supported the company’s decision to end sales in the West Bank.
“As Jewish supporters of the State of Israel, we fundamentally reject the notion that it is antisemitic to question the policies of the State of Israel,” they wrote in a 2021 New York Times opinion essay.
Cohen and Greenfield have been at odds with Unilever for the last few years, and one point of conflict has been Ben & Jerry’s advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza, per BBC.