Labels: BDS, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:48 PM
0 comments
All the hubbub obscured an important fact: SodaStream is hardly the only business with a hearty business in occupied territory. The 500 Palestinian employees at the 220,000-square-foot Ma’ale Adumim plant, which includes three manufacturing buildings and four warehouses, are a fraction of the 20,000 Palestinians working at Israeli firms in Area C. (The West Bank is divided into three zones, or areas. Area C, unlike Areas A and B, is under full Israeli control and encompasses 61 percent of the West Bank’s land mass. It is home to about 300,000 Palestinians, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.) Other Palestinians at Israeli companies in Area C make things like circuit boards, ceramic pipes, plastic bags, exfoliators, and fake lawns. In the Mishor Adumim Industrial Park, where the SodaStream factory is located, there are roughly 300 factories, most of which are owned by Israelis. On top of all this are the Palestinian firms hired by outside companies and scattered across the West Bank. Intel and Cisco employ Palestinian programmers. Fanzilla, which helps clients up their Facebook fan base, has Palestinian software developers. All of these outfits — those with a presence in Area C and those that just outsource to the wider West Bank labor market — benefit from the depressed wages made possible by, among other things, Israeli occupation.It's doubtful that 'Israeli occupation' is behind low wages for 'Palestinians' in Judea and Samaria. Wages for 'Palestinians' in Judea and Samaria are much higher than they are anyplace else in the Arab world. That's thanks to Israel - and not to the 'Palestinian Authority.'
The Palestinian Authority has done little to boost growth. It is deeply corrupt; in December, the European Court of Auditors reported that the PA had been using European funds to pay Gaza workers who had not worked for seven years, prompting the EU to rethink its aid policy. Palestinian officials also oppose Israeli investment in the West Bank, said Arye Hillman, an economist at Bar-Ilan University who has studied labor markets in Israel and the West Bank.The 'Palestinians' who work at SodaStream are lucky.
The Palestinian Authority may eventually change its tack. In 2013, the West Bank’s unemployment rate was just over 22 percent. There are not enough new businesses to create the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are needed to reduce that figure. The bottom line is that taking a principled stand against SodaStream is not only arbitrary and probably pointless — it also ignores the plight of the Palestinians who work there. Rivlin, the economist, said that he opposes the settlements but that it would be a bad idea for SodaStream, or any other Israeli firm in the West Bank, to pull out right now. This neatly reflects the tension at the heart of the factory’s very existence — the unavoidable sense that things are not as they should be, and the equally powerful sense that there are no viable alternatives.Read the whole thing.
Labels: BDS, Judea and Samaria, Palestinian Authority, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:08 PM
2 comments
Sources inform ''Globes'' that Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX) is in advanced talks to acquire 10% of SodaStream International Ltd. (Nasdaq: SODA) at a company value of $1.1 billion. SodaStream has a market cap of $850 million; Starbucks' offer reflects a 30% premium on the market price. Sources close to the deal say that an official announcement will be made soon.
The move comes 11 years after the failure of Starbucks' Israeli franchisee Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) to operate the US cafe chain in Israel.
Market sources have previously believed that SodaStream was seeking a partner, like the partnership between Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) and coffee machine maker Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (Nasdaq: GMCR). The two companies plan to launch a home soda maker machine, which could make carbonated beverages from Coca-Cola syrups, next year. This would increase the competitive pressures on SodaStream, compelling it to seek a strategic partner of its own.
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Despite SodaStream's clear advantages, its machines are found in only 1% of American homes, compared with 25% of homes in many European countries, such as Sweden. Collaboration with Starbucks would give SodaStream a distribution platform and marketing incentives, such as sales campaigns and special flavors for Starbucks customers.I hope this deal goes through. I really hope this deal goes through.
Labels: SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:34 AM
1 comments
Labels: Adalah, BDS, New Israel Fund, New York City, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:16 PM
0 comments
For both political and propaganda reasons, many terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas have operated social service branches since their inception. The PFLP has done the same for decades.Read the whole thing.
Oxfam has strong connections to two of these organizations: The Union of Health Workers Committees (UHWC), which provides medical services; and the Union of Agricultural Workers Committees (UAWC), which deals with land ownership and agricultural issues. The UHWC and the UAWC deny any connections to the PFLP. In the past, however, both have acknowledged that they were founded as part of the PFLP and share personnel with the terrorist group. There is, we believe, conclusive evidence that they remain branches of their parent organization, despite attempts to conceal these ties.
Oxfam’s connections to UHWC and UAWC have been publicly acknowledged by the NGO. Oxfam has described both groups as “partners” in its activities in both Gaza and the West Bank, and proudly stated that Oxfam works “very closely” with them. This closeness was recently reaffirmed by the signing of a new agreement under which Oxfam pledged to continue funding the UHWC. Oxfam has also issued many press releases and calls for action that endorse both groups and even solicit publicity for them.
A press release issued in 2008, for example, cited “Al-Awda hospital in Jabaliya, run by Oxfam’s partner, the Union of Health Work Committees” (emphasis ours). More recently, a 2012 “media advisory” regarding health issues in Gaza stated, “Oxfam’s partner UAWC is working to get emergency assistance to those most at risk. UAWC is available for interviews in English” (emphasis ours).
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The group acknowledges 17 individual branches, coordinated by the organization’s International Secretariat. Its branches “are based in: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Quebec, Spain and the United States” as well as “advocacy offices” in “Brussels, Geneva, New York, Washington DC and Brasilia.”
Since 1942, Oxfam has risen from a small, single-issue organization to one of the largest, wealthiest, and most influential NGOs in the world. According to its 2013 annual report , Oxfam enjoyed revenues last year of almost a billion Euros, the lion’s share of which comes from “institutional fundraising,” the UN, the EU, and other governments. Although it bills itself as a charity and often requests personal donations , only 40 percent of its revenue comes from “public fundraising.”
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The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian nationalist organization based on communist ideology. It has engaged in terrorism since its inception. Formed in 1967 following the Six Day War, it quickly became one of the largest parties in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and has attracted both violently militant terrorists and a strong intellectual following among both Arabs and the European extreme Left. Throughout its history, it has consistently rejected Israel’s right to exist and advocated its replacement with an Arab state. Although it has sporadically supported negotiations with Israel, it currently opposes talks or a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
Labels: Ahava cosmetics, designated terror organization, Oxfam, PFLP-GC, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Scarlet Johansson, Shurat HaDin, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:11 PM
0 comments
When I Google "Scarlett Johansson" the fizzy-drinks maker is the third predictive search suggestion in the list, after "Scarlett Johansson hot" – before even "Scarlett Johansson bum". A month ago, Johansson found herself caught up in a raging news story when it emerged Oxfam had written to her regarding her decision to become a brand ambassador for SodaStream. The company, it transpired, manufactures its products in a factory in a settlement on the West Bank, and while "Oxfam respects the independence of our ambassadors," it wrote, it also "believes that businesses that operate in settlements further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support".
Johansson responded by stepping down from her Oxfam role. From afar, it looked liked she'd received very poor advice; that someone who is paid good money to protect her interests hadn't done the necessary research before she'd accepted the role and that she'd unwittingly inserted herself into the world's most intractable geopolitical conflict. By the time Oxfam raised the issue, she was going to get flak if she did step down, flak if she didn't. Was the whole thing just a bit of a mistake?
But she shakes her head. "No, I stand behind that decision. I was aware of that particular factory before I signed it." Really? "Yes, and… it still doesn't seem like a problem. Until someone has a solution to the closing of that factory to leaving all those people destitute, that doesn't seem like the solution to the problem."
But the international community says that the settlements are illegal and shouldn't be there. "I think that's something that's very easily debatable. In that case, I was literally plunged into a conversation that's way grander and larger than this one particular issue. And there's no right side or wrong side leaning on this issue."
Except, there's a lot of unanimity, actually, I say, about the settlements on the West Bank. "I think in the UK there is," she says. "That's one thing I've realised… I'm coming into this as someone who sees that factory as a model for some sort of movement forward in a seemingly impossible situation."
Well, not just the UK. There's also the small matter of the UN security council, the UN general assembly, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Court of Justice… which all agree that they're in contravention of international law. Half of me admires Johansson for sticking to her guns – her mother is Jewish and she obviously has strong opinions about Israel and its policies. Half of me thinks she's hopelessly naive. Or, most likely, poorly advised. Of all the conflicts in all the world to plant yourself in the middle of…
"When I say a mistake," I say, "I mean partly because people saw you making a choice between Oxfam – a charity that is out to alleviate global poverty – and accepting a lot of money to advertise a product for a commercial company. For a lot of people, that's like making a choice between charity – good – and lots of money – greed."
"Sure I think that's the way you can look at it. But I also think for a non-governmental organisation to be supporting something that's supporting a political cause… there's something that feels not right about that to me. There's plenty of evidence that Oxfam does support and has funded a BDS [boycott, divest, sanctions] movement in the past. It's something that can't really be denied." When I contacted Oxfam, it denied this.Good for you, girl!
Labels: BDS, Oxfam, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:26 PM
0 comments
SodaStream, under fire for operating a factory in the West Bank, has seen its stock drop to the lowest level in more than a year.
The Israeli company’s stock price on the New York Stock Exchange fell 3.3 percent on Monday to $35.34.
On Jan. 13, the share price dropped 26 percent after the manufacturer of home soda-makers failed to meet projected earnings for 2013, according to Bloomberg. It was also the first day of trading after the company signed actress Scarlett Johannson as its first global ambassador.Sorry, but this has nothing to do with Johansson and everything to do with missing projections.
Labels: BDS, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:05 PM
1 comments
Labels: BDS, Oxfam, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:26 AM
0 comments
“Unsurprisingly, Oxfam has joined the BDS in this movement [to close down the West Bank factory],” SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum said. “I’m saying ‘unsurprisingly’ because we found out that some of the Oxfam branches have been donating funds to the BDS, and this money is used to demonize and attack Israel.”
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Birnbaum spoke out Sunday against Oxfam after the Israeli nonprofit group NGO Monitor posted information on its website claiming that in 2013, the charity’s Dutch affiliate Oxfam Novib had transferred NIS 406,300 to the Coalition of Women for Peace, which was involved in the BDS campaign against Israel.Oxfam claims that they 'only support' BDS - they don't fund it. However they don't deny that their Dutch affiliate funds the Coalition of Women for 'peace' which is a participant in the BDS campaign.
Oxfam immediately responded, denying the claim.
“We do not support BDS. We do not fund BDS,” Oxfam International’s head of media Matt Grainger said, though “we do fund lots of civil society organizations and lots of Palestinian civil society organizations.”Yeah.... Right....
Labels: BDS, NGO Monitor, Oxfam, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:12 AM
2 comments
The sip heard around the world: Scarlett Johansson, Super Bowl and #SodaStream http://t.co/uqAUM7XsGg #BDS pic.twitter.com/7eLnirI0Iu
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) February 2, 2014
Labels: BDS, Israel's Hebrew Palestinian daily, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream, Super Bowl XLVIII
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:43 AM
0 comments
Labels: BDS, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:45 PM
0 comments
So which is it? A symbol of repression, as Oxfam suggests, or a conduit for peace, as Ms Johansson argues? The Telegraph paid a visit to find out.
The plant employs roughly 500 Palestinians from the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as 450 Arab Israelis and 350 Jewish Israelis. It makes gadgets for creating home-made fizzy drinks.
For many of the Palestinians, working there involves negotiating a series of complex and time-consuming checkpoints between the factory and their homes in nearby Nablus and Hebron. But the high rates of unemployment in the West Bank made it worth it, they said.
“We have no problems working here”, said one Palestinian employee, as others nodded in agreement. “The relations with the others are good, the pay is fine. But the way home is sometimes very long”.
One outside contractor who regularly visited the plant added: “It’s rare to see a company like this. Everyone sits together, works together. If you ask me, there should be a thousand SodaStreams in this area.”
Two key factors drive around 25,000 Palestinians employees to work in the settlements. The average daily wage earned by Palestinian workers in Israel and the settlements was more than double that of the West Bank private sector in 2012, according to a report by the International Labour Organisation. Unemployment rises to over 40 percent amongst 20-24 year olds in the West Bank.
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Earlier this week, SodaStream’s chief executive, Daniel Birnbaum, said he would “never” have built the plant there in the first place had he known the controversy it might attract. But despite it being a “pain the ass”, he said he had no intentions to shut it.
“We will not throw our employees under the bus to promote anyone’s political agenda,” he said.
Yonah Lloyd, president of SodaStream, describes the atmosphere in the plant as “very harmonious”.
“We believe what we’ve accomplished by bringing together all kinds of people to work together, break bread together at lunch, and at company events at the beach, is a dream,” he told The Telegraph.
Several of the SodaStream employees interviewed point to the schism between politics and their everyday lives in terms of relations between Israelis and Palestinians.
“It’s only segregated at the top level, between the Israeli and the Palestinian governments”, says an Arab cook from East Jerusalem working at the SodaStream canteen.
“The politicians, they make all kinds of a mess between Jews and Arabs. But the people here, the Palestinians and Israelis, they are working together, they talk to each other, there’s no problem. But at the political level, there are many issues.”
The cook, who asked not to be named, refers to the case of Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.
“You know the story of one Israeli and one Palestinian, both from Jerusalem, both cooks?", he asked.
"They never met in Jerusalem, but both went to London, both started making falafel and humous, met each other and became partners. It’s possible in London but difficult here, because of the politicians”, the cook says.
A Palestinian worker from East Jerusalem is waiting at the bus stop, talking into his mobile phone. “I like working here. The relations between people are good, what can I say?”Read it all.
Labels: BDS, Judea and Samaria, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:25 AM
2 comments
Labels: Canada, Jason Kenney, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream, Stephen Harper
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:21 AM
0 comments
Johansson stepped down after the charity had expressed its disapproval of the actress's new role as spokesperson for SodaStream.
"Oxfam has accepted Scarlett Johansson’s decision to step down after eight years as a Global Ambassador and we are grateful for her many contributions," a statement on the Oxfam International website said.
"While Oxfam respects the independence of our ambassadors, Ms Johansson’s role promoting the company SodaStream is incompatible with her role as an Oxfam Global Ambassador."
Johansson responded to pressure from Oxfam in a statement released to The Huffington Post on Sunday.
“While I never intended on being the face of any social or political movement, distinction, separation or stance as part of my affiliation with SodaStream, given the amount of noise surrounding that decision, I’d like to clear the air,” she said.
”I remain a supporter of economic cooperation and social interaction between a democratic Israel and Palestine. SodaStream is a company that is not only committed to the environment but to building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine, supporting neighbors working alongside each other, receiving equal pay, equal benefits and equal rights. That is what is happening in their Ma’aleh Adumim factory every working day.”
Oxfam has previously stated its staunch opposition to all trade with Israeli settlements, which it considers illegal under international law.Now, if only all those Jews who claim that they support Israel would stop donating money to Oxfam.....
Labels: BDS, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:25 PM
1 comments
Labels: BDS, SodaStream
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:58 PM
1 comments
SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum accused Fox of rejecting the commercial "because they're afraid of Coke and Pepsi," USA Today reported.SodaStream had the same problem last year.
Nevertheless, the commercial is likely to be aired, because Birnbaum said he had little choice but to cut the offending line. "If I could get my money back, I'd be happy to be out of that deal," he added.
"What are they afraid of?" asked Birnbaum. "Which advertiser in America doesn't mention a competitor? This is the kind of stuff that happens in China. I'm disappointed as an American."
The two soft-drink giants, longtime spenders on Super Bowl ads, are back in the game this year, and Pepsi also is sponsoring the halftime show.
Fox executives declined to comment. So did executives from PepsiCo. Coca-Cola spokeswoman Lauren Thompson said: "I can confirm we did not pressure Fox. Other than that, we don't comment on our competitors' efforts."
Labels: BDS, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream, Super Bowl XLVIII
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:53 PM
1 comments
Labels: double standards, Judea and Samaria, SodaStream, war crimes
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:17 AM
0 comments
Johansson made clear in a statement released on Friday to The Huffington Post that she will not pull out of the endorsement deal.
The statement said the 29-year-old actress "never intended on being the face of any social or political movement, distinction, separation or stance" as part of her affiliation with SodaStream.
The company recently signed Johansson as its first "global brand ambassador" and she is to appear in a television ad during the Super Bowl on February 2.
SodaStream manufactures and distributes machines for home use to make carbonated drinks, eliminating the need to buy environmentally harmful plastic bottles. The company has become wildly successful, launching Israeli ingenuity into the public eye for its environmentally-friendly and frugal approach to the beloved beverage.
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"I remain a supporter of economic cooperation and social interaction between a democratic Israel and Palestine," said Johansson, according to AP.
"SodaStream is a company that is not only committed to the environment but to building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine, supporting neighbors working alongside each other, receiving equal pay, equal benefits and equal rights," she added.You go good girl!
Labels: BDS, Scarlet Johansson, SodaStream, Super Bowl XLVIII
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:21 AM
0 comments
But instead of answering BDS jeers, she simply said she loves the brand and has used it for years, and that SodaStream’s “commitment to a healthier body and a healthier planet is a perfect fit for me.”
She could also add that SodaStream’s plant in Maale Edumim, one of three in Israel, employs 1,100 workers — mostly West Bank Palestinians, under the same conditions and salaries as Jewish workers. A fourth plant, in southern Israel, will hire mostly Bedouin Arabs, now suffering from high unemployment.
In other words, SodaStream boasts many corporate values admired by the politically correct crowd. But not for Hollywood’s anti-Israelis.
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Anyway, the hard Hollywood left is happy to boycott anything having to do with the Jewish state — including Israeli theater companies that systematically bash their government’s policies.
Others are torn, saying they support Israel in principle, but oppose “occupation.” So they’ll boycott anything labeled “settlements.”
In Hollywood, where misguided radical chic hasn’t cost anyone a juicy movie part in half a century, ignoring the anti-Israel catcalls is no easy thing these days. Sticking by SodaStream in such an environment is admirable.
Scarlett Johansson, it turns out, is much more than a pretty face. Her casual dismissal of the BDS crowd is downright sexy.Indeed.
Labels: BDS, SodaStream, Super Bowl XLVIII
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:51 PM
2 comments
"I've been using the SodaStream products myself and giving them as gifts for many, many years," said Johansson.
"The company's commitment to a healthier body and a healthier planet is a perfect fit for me. I love that the product can be tailored to any lifestyle and palate. The partnership between me and SodaStream is a no brainer. I am beyond thrilled to share my enthusiasm for SodaStream with the world!!"
"We are thrilled to welcome the remarkably talented Scarlett Johansson into the SodaStream family," Daniel Birnbaum, the CEO of SodaStream, said in a statement.
"Scarlett is a long-time user and genuine fan of our products, a role model for healthy body image and a champion for environmental responsibility, making her the perfect choice for our global ambassador. She truly embodies our brand values and we are honored to have her join our team."
Take that BDS'ers!
The multi-year partnership between Johansson and SodaStream kicks off on SuperBowl Sunday, February 2nd.
Labels: BDS, Israeli high tech, SodaStream, Super Bowl XLVIII
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:45 PM
2 comments
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
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