Oxfam, BDS, and the exploitation of human rights

...The declared goals of Oxfam are admirable, but its politicization is troubling and revolting. It is a shame that one of the biggest and most influential aid organizations in the world acts hypocritically when it comes to Israel. Johansson was wise enough to understand this when she stopped acting as a face for the exploitation of humanitarian issues for political purposes.

Shira Michael..
Israel Hayom..
04 February '14..

Anti-Israel organizations and supporters of the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign have been driven to embark on a crusade to persuade actress Scarlett Johansson to resign from her role as the spokesmodel for Israeli company SodaStream and to apologize for her choice. This is because one of the company's factories is located in Mishor Adumim, beyond the Green Line.

The international aid organization Oxfam, where Johansson served as an ambassador for several years, joined the chorus of criticism and issued a statement that the organization respects the independent decisions of all its ambassadors, but opposes "all commerce with Israeli settlements" because they are "illegal" and "deny the rights" of the Palestinians.

Johansson has refused to apologize and responded by saying, "While I never intended on being the face of any social or political movement ... SodaStream is a company that is not only committed to the environment but to building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine."

In response to Oxfam, she said: "I stand behind the SodaStream product and am proud of the work that I have accomplished at Oxfam as an ambassador for over eight years. ... I am happy that light is being shed on this issue in hopes that a greater number of voices will contribute to the conversation of a peaceful two-state solution in the near future."

Johansson also announced she was ending her affiliation with Oxfam due to a "fundamental difference of opinion in regards to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement."

This is not the first (or the last) time that anti-Israel elements have pressured public figures and celebrities to boycott Israel. Such efforts were aimed at singers Alanis Morissette and Alicia Keys prior to their performances in Israel, but were unsuccessful. However, Elvis Costello and the Pixies canceled shows here following pressure from pro-BDS elements.


The BDS campaign began in 2005 as a tactic of political warfare against Israel, predicated on the exploitation of human rights issues. The rhetoric employed by BDS activists includes evil comparisons to South Africa's apartheid regime, false accusations of "war crimes," and violations of international law by Israel.

Even though the campaigns often express opposition to the occupation and settlement construction, in actuality the campaign leaders reject the Jews' right to self-determination, regardless of borders. The radical campaign supports "the right of return" and the one-state solution. In other words, the eradication of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people. The attack on Johansson stems from the claim that SodaStream contributes to the occupation, but ignores the fact that the factory provides a respectable living and adequate work conditions for around 550 Palestinian employees.

The campaign's objectives are clear and familiar, but why does an aid organization like Oxfam, which fights "poverty, suffering and injustice," oppose one of its ambassadors participating in the advertisement?

Oxfam transfers giant sums of money every year to nongovernmental organizations that oppose Israeli policies and even promote the BDS movement themselves. In 2013, Oxfam's office in Holland (Oxfam Novib) transferred 406,300 shekels ($115,300) to the Coalition of Women for Peace organization, which is among the leaders of the "Who Profits" campaign that attempts to shed light on the "occupation industry" and functions as a database for boycott activists. Oxfam Novib is a permanent donor to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, a leading organization in the legal war against Israel seeking the arrests of senior Israeli officials abroad. This group accuses Israel of apartheid, ethnic cleansing and war crimes, and deems attacks on Israeli citizens as "resistance." It is entirely unclear how funding such organizations contributes to eliminating the scourge of global poverty and hunger.

The declared goals of Oxfam are admirable, but its politicization is troubling and revolting. It is a shame that one of the biggest and most influential aid organizations in the world acts hypocritically when it comes to Israel. Johansson was wise enough to understand this when she stopped acting as a face for the exploitation of humanitarian issues for political purposes.

Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=7253

Shira Michael is a researcher at NGO Monitor

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