Ben & Jerry's联合创始人Jerry Greenfield因公司与母公司联合利华在以色列-哈马斯战争问题上的立场分歧，已辞去在公司的职务。Greenfield表示，这一决定是痛苦的，并指出联合利华在收购Ben & Jerry's时承诺保障其独立性以追求价值观。他认为公司已被联合利华“噤声”，并且对当前政府在民权、投票权、移民、女性和LGBTQ+群体权利方面的“攻击”表示不满。Ben & Jerry's与联合利华自2021年起就已存在争端，当时冰淇淋品牌宣布停止在约旦河西岸销售。该公司曾起诉母公司试图压制其声音，并称加沙冲突为“种族灭绝”，这对于一家大型美国公司而言极为罕见。

🍦 **价值观冲突导致辞职**：Ben & Jerry's联合创始人Jerry Greenfield因公司在以色列-哈马斯战争问题上的立场与母公司联合利华产生严重分歧，最终选择了辞职。他表示，这种分歧让他无法继续在公司任职，因为他认为公司在追求其核心价值观方面受到了阻碍。Greenfield强调，这一决定是他职业生涯中最艰难的之一，并非源于对公司及其员工的热爱减退。

⚖️ **独立性承诺的质疑**：Greenfield在辞职信中提到，联合利华在20多年前收购Ben & Jerry's时，曾“保证”公司拥有“独立追求我们价值观的自由”。然而，他认为联合利华现在的行为违背了这一承诺，导致公司在表达其社会和政治立场时受到限制，甚至被“噤声”。这使得他无法再“凭良心”继续工作。

🌍 **对社会和政治议题的立场**：Ben & Jerry's一直以其积极参与社会和政治议题而闻名。此次分歧的根源之一是该公司对加沙冲突的定性，称之为“种族灭绝”，这与母公司联合利华的立场形成鲜明对比。此外，Greenfield还对当前政府在民权、投票权、移民、女性和LGBTQ+群体权利方面的政策表示担忧，进一步凸显了他在价值观上的坚定立场。

🤝 **联合利华的回应与历史纠葛**：联合利华方面表示不同意Greenfield的看法，并寻求与两位创始人进行建设性对话。Magnum Ice Cream Company（联合利华旗下的冰淇淋部门）发言人指出，Greenfield已辞去品牌大使职务，并且不是相关诉讼的当事方。Ben & Jerry's与联合利华的紧张关系并非首次出现，自2021年因停止在约旦河西岸销售而起的争端，已经持续了一段时间，包括品牌起诉母公司试图压制其声音的事件。

Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield has quit the company, as the divide with parent Unilever grew over its stance on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

His partner, Ben Cohen, shared Greenfield's open letter on X on Wednesday, saying it was a "difficult decision." Greenfield had been with the company for 47 years.

"This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I've ever made," Greenfield wrote in the letter. "This isn't because I've lost my love for the people at Ben & Jerry's. Quite the opposite."

He went on to say that when Unilever bought the company more than 20 years ago, it "guaranteed" Ben & Jerry's had "the independence to pursue our values."

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Greenfield said he could no longer "in good conscience" continue working for a company that had been "silenced" by Unilever. He also called out the current administration, saying it is "attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women and the LGBTQ community." 

Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s have clashed since 2021, when the ice cream maker said it would stop sales in the West Bank.

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The brand has since sued its parent over alleged efforts to silence it and described the Gaza conflict as "genocide," a rare stance for a major U.S. company.

A spokesperson for Magnum Ice Cream Company, Unilever's ice cream unit, told Reuters that it "disagrees with Greenfield's perspective and has sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry's powerful values-based position in the world."

Magnum said Greenfield stepped down as a brand ambassador and that he is not a party to the lawsuit.

Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's was founded by Cohen and Greenfield in a renovated gas station in 1978, and kept its socially conscious mission after Unilever bought it in 2000.

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"It was always about more than just ice cream; it was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice and a better world," Greenfield wrote. 

FOX Business reached out to Unilever for comment. 

Reuters contributed to this report.