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One of the co-founders behind the famous frozen dessert company Ben & Jerry's has announced that parent company Unilever stopped the introduction for an innovative Palestine-themed frozen dessert product.

The entrepreneur, that established the business alongside Jerry Greenfield, announced how he plans to independently develop the controversial flavor within a personal collection highlighting issues Ben & Jerry's was prevented from speaking out about.

Longstanding Dispute Between Creators and Parent Company

The recent announcement intensifies the continuing conflict among the world-famous dessert company and Unilever, the British consumer goods corporation which has owned Ben & Jerry's for over two decades.

Both founders maintain how Unilever along with their ice cream division Magnum unlawfully blocked their company from "fulfilling its ethical commitments".

Watermelon Sorbet as an Emblem of Solidarity

Mr. Cohen announced via an Instagram video how he is creating a new watermelon-based sorbet, requesting public suggestions regarding the product's name plus potential ingredients.

“I'm accomplishing what they were prevented from doing,” the founder commented in a cooking set. “I'm creating a watermelon-based frozen dessert that calls for lasting ceasefire in Palestine and calls for addressing the harm that occurred in the region.”

The watermelon has emerged as a symbol of support for the Palestinian people due to its colors, which match the colors in Palestine's national banner – red, green, black and white.

Previous Activism plus Current Developments

In 2021, Ben & Jerry's ceased sales of its products in territories under Israeli control, resulting in Unilever transferring the Israeli operation over to a local licensee, thus allowing continued sales within disputed territories.

The new product line is being created through Ben's Best, the activist ice cream brand that originally created several years back for endorsing former political contender Bernie Sanders with the flavor "Bernie's Back".

Leadership Changes plus Upcoming Intentions

Mr. Cohen revealed that he plans to create additional frozen dessert varieties focusing on issues that the company was silenced from speaking about openly by Unilever.

The announcement follows co-founder Jerry Greenfield stepped down from Ben & Jerry's recently, following many years of involvement, mentioning concerns that its independence was undermined following corporate moves to restrict their advocacy work.

At that time, Mr. Cohen remarked how "Jerry has strong compassion and this conflict with Unilever was breaking it."

“My conscience leads me to continue to work within the organization to fight for its independence ensuring that it can achieve the social mission, the principles which it was founded on and has maintained for over 40 years," he explained to media outlets.

• Corporate owner limitations regarding social activism
• Personal product development from company founders
• The fruit-based product as political symbol
• Ongoing tensions among corporate ownership and social mission