Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson has courted controversy after advertising for an Israeli firm operating in a West Bank settlement, declared illegal under international law.
Johansson, who appears in a commercial for SodaStream, defended her role, but has come under fire from activists for her continued support of the company. In a statement Ms Johansson said last week that the company was “not only committed to the environment, but to building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine”.
Rafeef Ziadah, a campaigner with the London-based Palestinian Boycott National Committee, dismissed the comments though, saying,
“Palestinians are in a captive economy, so it’s not a bridge to peace... It’s a bridge to continuing the occupation and cementing the apartheid policies that exist.”
The controversy comes as other companies recently cancelled contracts with companies based in Israeli settlements, including Dutch pension fund PGGM who pulled several million euros from Israeli banks, due to branches in settlements.
Read more from the Financial Times here.