Ben & Jerry’s co-founder arrested over Gaza protest
The millionaire co-founder of the iconic Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream brand, Ben Cohen, was among seven individuals arrested on Wednesday after disrupting a US Senate hearing to protest Washington’s policy on Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Cohen was detained during testimony by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As he was being led away by police, the entrepreneur was heard shouting “Congress kills poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs and pays for it by kicking kids off Medicaid in the US,” and “Congress and the senators need to ease the siege – they need to let food into Gaza!”
The co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, which has an estimated annual revenue of $300 million, was forcibly removed from the hearing along with six others. They were charged with the misdemeanor offense of “crowding, obstructing, and incommoding” – a law that prohibits demonstrations inside congressional buildings.
Cohen and his Ben & Jerry’s co-founder, Jerry Greenfield, are known for their activism, including criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
“I told Congress they’re killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and they’re paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the US. This was the authorities’ response,” Cohen posted on X after his release from custody.
- The US is Israel’s largest arms supplier, providing more than two-thirds of the Jewish state’s weapons imports.
- The US spent $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel between October 2023 and October 2024, according to the Costs of War Project at Brown University.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, his administration has reportedly approved nearly $12 billion in major military sales to West Jerusalem.
- In February, Washington signed off on the sale of over $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles, and related equipment to Israel, which has employed US-made weapons with devastating impact during the conflict in Gaza.
- The Pentagon announced the additional sale of bombs, demolition kits, and other weaponry to Israel in March worth $3 billion.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following a deadly incursion by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023, which left more than 1,100 people dead and more than 200 taken hostage. The heavy aerial and artillery pounding of the densely populated Palestinian enclave, coupled with an Israeli ground operation, have since claimed the lives of over 60,000 people, with many more injured or missing, Palestinian authorities have estimated.
