Washington, D.C., May 15 — Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and a veteran progressive activist, was arrested Wednesday after disrupting a U.S. Senate hearing in protest of American support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Cohen, 74, was among a group of demonstrators who interrupted Health Secretary Xavier Becerra’s testimony on the department’s budget proposal. Shouting “Congress pays for bombs to kill children in Gaza” and criticizing proposed Medicaid cuts, Cohen was handcuffed and escorted out by Capitol Police.
“It got to a point where we had to do something,” Cohen told AFP following his release. He called it a “scandal” that the U.S. had approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel while cutting back on critical domestic social programs.
As he was removed from the chamber, Cohen urged lawmakers to press Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. “They’re starving kids. Let the food in,” he shouted.
Cohen framed his protest as both a political and moral imperative. “The majority of Americans hate what’s going on—what our country is doing with our money and in our name,” he said. “Condoning and being complicit in the slaughter of tens of thousands of people strikes at the core of who we are.”
He criticized U.S. military spending, which he said consumes nearly half of the country’s discretionary budget, and suggested those funds could instead be used to improve lives globally.
Cohen, who is Jewish and has long been outspoken on U.S. foreign policy, likened diplomacy to parenting. “You go to a three-year-old who goes around hitting people and you say, ‘Use your words,’” he said. “There are ways to resolve conflicts without killing.”
Last year, Cohen joined other prominent Jewish figures in publicly opposing the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. He emphasized that his high profile gives him a platform to voice opinions shared by millions of Americans.
The protest comes amid growing criticism of U.S. support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed 1,218 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to official counts.
Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza has resulted in at least 52,928 deaths, predominantly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry—a source the United Nations deems generally reliable.
This week, a UN-backed food security monitor warned that Gaza faces a “critical risk of famine,” with 100% of the population experiencing food insecurity and 22% classified as being in a state of humanitarian “catastrophe.”
Public opinion in the U.S. has shifted, particularly among Democrats, with growing disapproval of Israeli military actions, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll.
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