Scarlett Johansson’s naive SodaStream defense
American actress Scarlett Johansson has become the center of controversy following the announcement that she is the new face of SodaStream, an Israeli company with a large factory in the West Bank.
(+972) – SodaStream produces domestic carbonation machines for making sodas at home, and has a large factory in the Mishor Adumim industrial zone, located inside Ma’ale Adumim, the third largest settlement in the occupied West Bank [Map E1 zone]. (This fact is conspicuously absent from its Wikipedia page). The company has both Palestinian and Israeli employees working in its West Bank factory, branding itself as an environmentally friendly, ethical alternative for soda lovers who want to do away with bottles – and that is what Scarlett Johansson claims she loves so much about SodaStream and why she is now its first-ever “brand ambassador.”
Johansson has been under severe scrutiny and media attention from anti-occupation activists and advocates of the BDS movement. Both the The New Yorker and NY Magazine covered the controversy, the latter with the funny, if forced headline: “Guilt-Free Seltzer or Blood Bubbles?” Robert Mackey who writes The New York Times’ Lede Blog has an excellent, detailed report, if you want to read more details.
I reckon the enormous media attention has partly to do with that fact that she is major eye candy and websites love to put her face on their home pages, no less than SodaStream does. Here is a hilarious meme I saw going around that I cannot resist but share.
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"Scarlett Johansson enjoys a refreshment outside the employee lounge at #SodaStream's West Bank factory"
Johansson did not respond to the criticism until Friday, after Oxfam- the international aid and development NGO for which she also happens to be an ambassador since 2007 – came out with a statement challenging her involvement with SodaStream (but stopped short of calling on her to step down). According to their statement:
“Oxfam respects the independence of our ambassadors. However Oxfam believes that businesses that operate in settlements further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support. Oxfam is opposed to all trade from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.”
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The argument that settlement companies like SodaStream are OK because they employ Palestinians holds no weight, since the political reality of occupation does not allow Palestinian workers to make a free and informed choice regarding their livelihoods. This argument has already been made many times, and especially poignantly by Who Profits, an Israeli NGO that documents Israel’s occupation industry.
Mondoweiss: Deconstructing Scarlett Johansson’s statement on SodaStream
More reactions below the fold …
Scarlett Johansson has been politically active for the Democrats since Kerry in 2004 and wants to be a voice for disadvantaged people. In a 2012 campaign TV ad for MoveOn.org she took a stance on women’s issues. For 2016 she has already indicated to throw her support behind Hillary.
“If you already have the spotlight shining on you, it’s great to direct that toward a cause you believe in and that you can stand behind. It’s nice to be a voice for people who don’t have a voice.”
Scarlett’s statement about her ambassadorship for Sodastream certainly didn’t provide any clarity and was taken apart. Her decision to cut ties with Oxfam indicates her new political activism.
Daniel Birnbaum, CEO of SodaStream, said in a video produced by a pro-Israel group Stand With Us that “we give them an opportunity to not only have a job and health insurance, but also social benefits. And a very high pay-scale which they could never achieve in the West Bank.” A report issued by the Israeli activist group Who Profits? [January 2011 – pdf] outlined major labor rights concerns at SodaStream’s factory in Mishor Adumim can be found here.
Last part posted @Informed Comment – Bad for the Jews: Israeli Annexation of Palestinian West Bank, Scarlett Johansson and BDS.
