Ice cream tycoon Ben Cohen argues that the war in Ukraine was provoked by the US, NATO, and the military-industrial complex, and that peace should be pursued instead of further escalation.
The founder of the popular ice cream brand has previously been critical of the US role in the war in Ukraine. He has shared social media posts arguing that the war was provoked by NATO and calling for negotiations and peace rather than further escalation of the situation.
In an interview with Politico, he says that his political awakening came during the Cold War, and that he was 11 years old when the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Since his youth, the Jewish-American entrepreneur has been involved in peace work in various ways – and continues to support such movements financially and physically.
– If we weren’t wasting all of our money on preparing to kill people, we would actually be able to save and help a lot of people. That goes for how we approach the world internationally as well, he says, adding that this also applies to the war in Ukraine.
According to Cohen, it is of paramount importance to U.S. defense contractors that NATO continues to expand and that there are strong economic interests that make a lot of money from continued conflicts and wars.
– In the end, money won. Today they are not only supplying arms to all the new NATO countries, but they are also supplying arms to Ukraine.
– I’m not supporting Russia, I’m not supporting Ukraine. I’m supporting negotiations to end the war instead of providing more weapons to continue the war, he adds.
Cohen says it was actually Bob Dylan’s song “Masters of War” that made him realize that there is a very powerful “military-industrial-congressional complex” that profits from war and death and is behind many of the world’s conflicts.
If @Potus wants to shed the toxic legacy of George W. Bush and Donald Trump, we need to insist on level-headed, diplomatic solutions to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Those solutions will require compromise and empathy.https://t.co/njbaIdkmbL @commondreams
— Ben Cohen (@YoBenCohen) May 24, 2023
Ben Cohen, who is no longer in control of Ben & Jerry’s, is not only committed to peace, but also to freedom of expression. Earlier this summer, he was arrested for calling for the immediate release of jailed Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
Cohen chose to show his support for Assange by blocking the entrance to the Department of Justice building in Washington DC. He has been arrested several times for “civil disobedience” for similar actions.
