Burlington, Vermont - Ben & Jerry's has filed a new lawsuit accusing its parent company, Unilever, of attempting to silence its support for the Palestinian people under Israeli siege.

The ice cream company, which has a long history of social justice advocacy, also accused Unilever of threatening to break up its independent board and sue members, according to Reuters.

"Ben & Jerry’s has on four occasions attempted to publicly speak out in support of peace and human rights," the lawsuit reportedly states. "Unilever has silenced each of these efforts."

The parent company allegedly blocked efforts to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, the safe passage of Palestinian refugees to the UK, protections for student protesters on college campuses, and an end to US weapons transfers to Israel.

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Unilever's head of ice cream, Peter ter Kulve, expressed concerns about the "continued perception of anti-Semitism" if Ben & Jerry's spoke in support of the people of Gaza, according to the suit.

Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000. The company was founded in 1978 by longtime friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who are Jewish and have spoken out against Israeli settler-colonialism.

This is not the first legal dispute between Ben & Jerry's and its parent company.

The ice cream brand announced it was ending sales in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in July 2021, prompting Unilever to sell its business interests in Israel to a local manufacturer and distributor. This enabled sales to continue in Israel and the West Bank.

The new lawsuit accuses Unilever of violating a 2022 settlement of that earlier case, including an agreement allowing Ben & Jerry's $5 million to donate to human rights and social justice groups of its own choosing.

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The ice cream company reportedly wanted to give funds to several groups outspoken against the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Jewish Voice for Peace and the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations were among those organizations.

According to the lawsuit, Unilever in August objected to Jewish Voice for Peace as "too critical of the Israeli government," Reuters reported.

Since October 2023, Israel is believed to have slaughtered more than 200,000 Palestinians in Gaza. United Nations experts have warned that the people of northern Gaza are facing the imminent threat of famine, as a brutal Israeli blockade has reduced humanitarian aid to a trickle.