At a time when a prominent former NBA star is posing for photo ops in North Korea and a Canadian rock star is boorishly comparing Fort McMurray to Hiroshima, it's refreshing to see a celebrity embracing a more nuanced and carefully considered position on international affairs. Actress Scarlett Johansson has decided to end her eight-year relationship with the humanitarian group Oxfam International over what her spokesperson called "a fundamental difference of opinion." The 29-year-old actress, who has been criticized for her partnership with SodaStream, an Israeli company making home-carbonation machines and operating a factory in the West Bank, cited Oxfam's position on the "boycott, divestment and sanctions movement" as the reason for her decision to sever ties. Last week, Oxfam released a statement saying that while the group supports the independence of its ambassadors, it opposes "all trade" from Israeli settlements, calling them "illegal" and claiming that they "deny Palestinian rights." "We have made our concerns known to Ms. Johansson and we are now engaged in a dialogue on these important issues," the statement read. And Ms. Johansson, who happens to be Jewish, has politely told Oxfam where it might put those concerns. The actress announced her role as a global ambassador for SodaStream earlier this month, and she is set to appear in a high-profile Super Bowl ad for the company on Feb. 2. In response to earlier criticism, Ms. Johansson defended SodaStream, claiming that the company "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." The SodaStream factory operates in Ma'ale Adumim, a settlement in the West Bank that was captured by the Israelis in 1967. That factory is just one of 25 operated around the world by the Israeli company, which has become the target of boycott, divestment, sanction (BDS) activists around the world. These activists claim that the company operates on illegally occupied land and exploits its Palestinian workers. In fact, the 500-or-so West-Bank-resident Palestinians who work at the Ma'ale Adumim factory are paid the same wages as the Jewish and Arab Israelis who also work on location. The factory has both an onsite synagogue and an onsite mosque, and all workers share the same dining hall and other common areas. SodaStream pays its Palestinian workers three times what they might receive working at typical West Bank jobs, and some Arab Israeli workers have climbed up the ranks to management. SodaStream's critics contend that the company is merely exploiting the cheap land and tax breaks afforded by its West Bank operation, the location of which was decided back in the 1990's. And Palestinian workforce or not, they say, the factory is on illegally occupied territory. But this philosophical belief ignores the tangible effect that the factory's closure — the intended aim of the BDS campaign — would have on the regular, everyday Palestinian people who rely on SodaStream to make a living. Forced out of work, these Palestinians would have to contend with the 22% unemployment rate currently plaguing the West Bank. Indeed, this sort of inattention to the palpable effects of boycott is characteristic of the BDS campaign, which continues to push for a intellectually dishonest boycott of Israeli academics and a brazen ban of all sorts of Israeli products — except for those with really significant impacts on our daily lives. You can still take a strong moral stance against Israel while using an Intel chip, right? Ms. Johansson has not allowed herself to be bullied by BDS activists. Good for her. If only all politically engaged celebrities were so worthy of acclaim. National Post

• published: 01 Feb 2014
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