What we’re up against: blindness. Two respectable institutions, both with liberal bona fides, overlook the occupation.
First, there’s a Stern Women in Business Conference this Friday, ironically called “Breaking Boundaries,” at which they will offer as a role model an executive who produces goods in the occupied territories, from stolen Palestinian resources, Ahava:
[conference] will highlight how business is being transformed by values-driven female leaders who combine private sector profitability with creative and strategic leadership. Speakers will explore how women have innovated their careers, from design innovation to business model innovation to innovating for social change.SWIB is pleased to be hosting the following Keynote speakers: Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO of Mondelez International (formerly Kraft Foods), Bethany Mayer, SVP & GM of Hewlett-Packard Company, Marian Croak, SVP at AT&T Labs, and Elana Drell Szyfer, CEO of AHAVA North America.
Kimmel Center 44 West 4th Street, Suite 6-130 New York, NY 10012
United States Friday, February 8, 9:00am – 4:30pm
It’s worth pointing out that Martin Kimmel, after whom the building is named, supports Israel. These are critical connections in understanding this support.
The news site of the Center for American Progress, ThinkProgress, meanwhile, has two pieces up praising SodaStream, the company that makes seltzer-makers in the West Bank, for its environmental practices and saying nothing explicitly about the fact that the company operates in occupied territory in disregard of international law. Here’s one piece:
This Sunday’s Super Bowl will be punctuated by dozens of ads featuring everything from adorable puppies to kids in Star Wars outfits. But one commercial you won’t see is a provocative ad by the carbonated beverage company SodaStream — an Israeli company that is no stranger to controversy — that takes on soda giants Coca Cola and Pepsi.
That’s because the ad has been pulled after pressure from the mammoth corporations led Super Bowl host CBS to take it down from its programming. Reportedly, Coke and Pepsi were upset with the commercials’ implied criticism of the soda industry’s use of plastic bottles and the subsequent harmful effects on the environment:
This second piece at the liberal site says that SodaStream got the backing of environmentalist marketer Alex Bogusky, who has highlighted the health dangers of sugary drinks:
SodaStream says its “vision is to create a world free from bottles.” They claim that ”since January 2009, we have saved the world from over 1 billion plastic bottles.”
…in October, Bogusky “partnered with The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) to launch a public info project called The Real Bears … to highlight the far-reaching affects of soda marketing.”
the last link to Joe Romm @- think progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/02/03/1533901/see-the-green-soda-ad-banned-from-the-superbowl/
pity Romm doesn’t even begin to connect the dots between what we are sold, what we eat, international law and human rights.
Most galling is the offering up of the Ahava US CEO as a “values-driven” leader. What values do land theft, pillage of resources and fraudulent labeling promote? http://www.stolenbeauty.org
“backing of environmentalist marketer Alex Bogusky, who has highlighted the health dangers of sugary drinks”
SodaStream’s Natural Lemon and Lime has over 24 carbs in it for a single serving (240 ml or 8 oz), according to their website.
Maybe Coke and Pepsi will oppose the occupation.
RE: “The news site of the Center for American Progress, ThinkProgress, meanwhile, has two pieces up praising SodaStream, the company that makes seltzer-makers in the West Bank, for its environmental practices and saying nothing explicitly about the fact that the company operates in occupied territory in disregard of international law.” ~ Weiss
AN OPPOSING VIEW FROM A MORE KNOWLEGEABLE PERSON WHO IS NOT AS COMPELLED TO BE “POLITICALLY CORRECT” AS IS THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: “Why I’m Boycotting SodaStream”, By Rabbi Brant Rosen,Shalom Rav,
ENTIRE COMMENTARY – http://rabbibrant.com/2013/01/25/why-im-boycotting-sodastream/