Oxfam America’s office in Washington, DC, refused on Tuesday to receive a 10,000-signature petition calling on the charity to cut ties with its “Global Ambassador” Scarlett Johansson if she remains “Global Brand Ambassador” for SodaStream.

SodaStream is an Israeli company that operates a factory in an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Staff at the office also refused to meet members of the delegation that brought the petition, according to a media release from the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

Activists did, however, present the petition and meet with staff at Oxfam America’s Boston office.

In Los Angeles and New York, human rights groups also delivered a petition to Johansson’s representatives at Creative Artists Agency, calling on the Hollywood actress to end her relationship with SodaStream.  

As the US Campaign’s release details, activists from a coalition of groups were involved in the actions, including: Adalah-NY, American Jews for a Just Peace, Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights, Christian Peacemakers Team, CODEPINK, Jewish Voice for Peace and the US Palestinian Community Network.

Also, on Monday, the Netherlands Palestine Committee (Nederlands Palestina Komitee) wrote to Oxfam urging the charity to demand that Johansson “severs all connections with SodaStream, and if she is not inclined to do so, to drop her as Oxfam ambassador.”

The messages from the thousands who signed petitions, carried by these groups to Oxfam’s offices and Johansson’s agents, echo those coming from Palestine, where Oxfam’s Palestinian partners, and the largest coalition of Palestinian civil society groups have urged the charity to sever ties with the actress.

Amid deep splits within Oxfam, the charity has so far refused to dissociate itself from its occupation-profiteering “ambassador” even as Israel PR professionals praise Johansson for her “strong pro-Israel stance.”

Tags

• OXFAM
• Sodastream
• Scarlett Johansson
• Israeli settlements
• BDS
• Oxfam America
• US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
• Netherlands Palestine Committee (Nederlands Palestine Komitee)

• Ali Abunimah's blog

• Facebook
• Twitter

Comments

Oxfam

Permalink Tess replied on Thu, 01/30/2014 - 17:32

I really think that the only thing to do now is for those who have an Oxfam shop nearby to boycott it and for those who can, to stand outside displaying BDS posters and other information, photos etc. of Israel's war crimes.Oxfam, which has had ample time to act with integrity, has shown itself unworthy of the label charity, oh and the tax advantages, lest we forget.
I and all the people I know who frequent their shops will no longer be setting foot in any of them.