Ben Cohen, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, was arrested Wednesday after interrupting a Senate hearing to protest the United States' policy on Gaza, according to American media reports.
While Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was delivering a testimony, Cohen reportedly shouted: "Congress sent the bombs that kill children in Gaza and pays for it with cuts to Medicaid."
Cohen was escorted out by Capitol Police and arrested following the interruption. He has reportedly since been charged with misdemeanor offense of Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding.
"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 wrote on X with footage of the incident.
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. pic.twitter.com/uOf7xrzzWM
— Ben Cohen (@YoBenCohen) May 14, 2025
In the video, Cohen claimed Israel had starved Gaza for 79 days and the US needed to enable food to enter the enclave.
Cohen was one of seven protesters escorted from the building, according to NBC News.
Ben from Ben & Jerry’s confronts RFK Jr. and Congress:“YOU’RE KILLING POOR KIDS IN GAZAAND PAYING FOR IT BY CUTTING MEDICAIDFOR KIDS HERE.”While Congress writes checks for bombs, children are starving. pic.twitter.com/C6is7zQ8UZ
— CODEPINK (@codepink) May 14, 2025
Outside the meeting, Cohen held a conference with Rashida Tlaib, an American politician embroiled in numerous antisemitism controversies.
"I don't know if you know this Ben but I found out a couple of years ago I'm lactose intolerant. But I still buy your ice cream."– Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) to Ben & Jerry's cofounder Ben Cohen during news conference on Israel and Gaza pic.twitter.com/aPZ7XwuIxV
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) May 14, 2025
Humanitarian aid to re-enter Gaza Strip
A US-backed humanitarian organization said on Wednesday that it would launch operations in Gaza by the end of May and has asked Israel to allow aid to start flowing into the enclave now under existing procedures until it is set up.
No humanitarian aid has been delivered to Gaza since March 2, and a global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation, a quarter of the enclave's population. Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, aid deliveries have been handled by international aid groups and UN organizations.
The newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will instead distribute aid in Gaza from so-called secure distribution sites, but said Israel's current plan to only allow a few such sites in southern Gaza needed to be scaled up to include the north.
"GHF emphasizes that a successful humanitarian response must eventually include the entire civilian population in Gaza," the foundation's executive director, Jake Wood, wrote in a letter to the Israeli government.
"GHF respectfully requests that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) identify and deconflict sufficient locations in northern Gaza capable of hosting GHF operated secure distribution sites that can be made operational within thirty days," he wrote.
He asked Israel to facilitate the flow of enough aid "using existing modalities" until GHF's distribution infrastructure is fully operational, saying this is essential to "alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure, as well as decrease the pressure on the distribution sites during our first days of operation."
US security firm UG Solutions and US-based Safe Reach Solutions, which does logistics and planning, would be involved in the foundation's operations, said a source familiar with the plans, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Following the GHF announcement, the International Committee of the Red Cross said concerns about aid distribution remained.
"Humanitarian aid should not be politicized nor militarized. The level of need among civilians in Gaza right now is overwhelming, and aid needs to be allowed to enter immediately and without impediment," said ICRC spokesperson Steve Dorsey.
Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the Palestinian militant group denies, and is blocking humanitarian deliveries until Hamas releases all remaining hostages.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said earlier on Wednesday that Israel endorsed what he called "the American humanitarian plan." Israel's mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wood's letter.
