Since the last day of action against SodaStream Ma'ale Adumim and the E1 project have been in the news a lot. The settlement expansion announced by Israel after the Palestine UN bid the other day is mainly aimed at strengthening the settlement which homes SodaStream further with devastating consequences for the Palestinian communities around it.
On Monday the 10th of December there will be another twitter and phone blockade on SodaStream's shop EcoStream in Brighton. You can participate from wherever you are. Or, even better, do a SodaStream picket at a target near you.
Call EcoStream on 01273567924 and/or tweet @EcoStreamstore and @SodaStreamUK with questions and comments about their business. We advice that you keep your correspondence polite and factual.
The Brighton campaign can be contacted on brightonbds@riseup.net twitter: @brightonbds
Here are some sample tweets used last time which you can copy and paste, but do write your own too! If you can, try to use the hashtag #ShutEcoStream
Nothing clean or green about settlement profiteering @EcoStreamstore@SodaStreamUK http://ow.ly/foOYT #BoycottSodaStream
Hey @SodaStreamUK ethnic cleansing is not green @EcoStreamstore#Sodastream #BDS
Dear @EcoStreamstore @SodaStreamUK why are 22 NGOs recommending EU ban your products? http://www.fidh.org/Trading-Away-Peace-How-Europe-12343 …#BoycottSodaStream
Dear @Ecostreamstore @SodaStreamUK, since when is facilitating oppression considered "Eco"? http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=4531 #BoycottSodaStream
Fizzy drinks here but no running water access in Khan al Ahmar next to your settlement factory. Is this right? @ecostreamstore @sodastreamUK
@Ecostreamstore @SodaStreamUK taxes you pay to illegal settlement go to mega landfill on Palestinian land. "Eco"? #BoycottSodaStream
@EcoStreamstore @SodaStreamUK Why is UN Special Rapporteur calling for boycott of Cos like yours? http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/7ECCFB965BA894FD85257AA2005FBBCB …#BoycottSodaStream
@EcostreamStore @SodaStreamUK Why do you need to rely on human rights violations to turn a profit? http://www.whoprofits.org/company/sodastream-soda-club-group …#BoycottSodaStream
Hey @EcoStreamstore @SodaStreamUK these brides don't want illegal settlement goods http://ow.ly/fnPDQ #BoycottSodaStream
We know @Ecostreamstore @SodaStreamUK that your factory is in an illegal settlement http://ow.ly/fnPPU #BoycottSodaStream
@Ecostreamstore @SodaStreamUK As long as you work in illegal Israeli settlement and pay taxes to the Israeli State - I'll boycott you
@Ecostreamstore @sodastreamUK Why don't you close your #Brightonstore now? Its never going to work with this much opposition. #BDS
! @EcoStreamstore @SodaStreamUK too bad your plant is in an Israeli illegal settlement http://ow.ly/fnPxq #BoycottSodaStream
@Ecostreamstore @sodastreamUK Do your shareholders know that you are risking their investment by refusing to move from Mishor Adumim?#BDS
Your business breaks international law - are you worried about criminal liability? @Ecostreamstore & @sodastreamUK ? @BrightonBDS #BDS
@SodaStreamUK Do you let your customers know that you refuse to move your factory from Mishor Adumim settlement? @EcoStreamstore#Sodastream
@Ecostreamstore ethnic cleansing taking place to allow for the expansion of Mishor Adumim where @sodastreamUK factory is based #BDS
Oh my @EcoStreamstore @SodaStreamUK, Why would brides be boycotting your products? http://ow.ly/fnPDQ #BoycottSodaStream
@EcoStreamstore @SodaStreamUK Why did student gov at UC Irvine vote to divest from your company? http://www.asuci.uci.edu/legislative/legislations/print.php?cnum=R48-15&gov_branch=ASUCI …#BoycottSodaStream
Callout for support at SodaStream picket in Brighton and a call to action
SodaStream is an Israeli manufacturer of home carbonation systems and refill components. In August this year the company opened a shop in Brighton called EcoStream. This is its first own brand shop in the UK and its opening represents an attempt to expand into the UK market by promoting itself as an eco-friendly business. But their products are far from ethical and sustainable. Instead, they profit from Israel's occupation of Palestine through the theft of Palestinian resources,
occupation of Palestinian land and exploitation of Palestinian labour.
For the last three months, activists in Brighton have been holding pickets outside the shop at least once a week. These pickets have been met with growing pro-Israeli counter protests. So far we are outnumbering them in both numbers and public support, but we are asking solidarity groups and
individuals from across the country to come down to Brighton and join the Saturday picket, or to take action against SodaStream where you are.
SodaStream seem determined not to become the next Ahava. The Israeli Embassy have contacted Sussex police with “concerns” about the protests, Jonathan Hoffman -of the Zionist federation- has been down to the counter demos and SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum has threatened legal action
against the protest through the local paper. He has also stated that SodaStream will not stop trading from the West Bank. Lets show them that we can stop the expansion of occupation profiteers.
If you are planning to come down to one of the pickets, or have any questions, please email brightonbds@riseup.net
SodaStream
*SodaStream's main manufacturing plant is located in the illegal settlement industrial zone Mishor Adumim.
*Mishor Adumim is part of Ma'ale Adumim, one of the biggest and most quickly expanding settlements in the West Bank, with a population of around 40,000.
*It is Israel's stated aim to transfer the Bedouin Jahalin, who have been living in the same place for 60 years, out of the area to facilitate the strategic settlement expansion of Ma'ale Adumim and surrounding settlements.
*By trading from Mishor Adumim SodaStream facilitate ethnic cleansing and settlement expansion whilst exploiting Palestine's water resources and land.
SodaStream products are sold in the UK at Conran, Robert Dyas, John Lewis, Argos, Comet, Lakeland and some Sainsbury and Asda stores.
For more information on SodaStream see:
http://corporateoccupation.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/targeting-israeli-apartheid-jan-2012.pdf
pages 96-102 and www.whoprofits.org/company/sodastream-soda-club-group
Some articles in response to EcoStream and ongoing protests:
Dear Corporation: A response to SodaStream
http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=4531
Israeli Company seeking to stop protest in the UK
http://corporateoccupation.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/israeli-company-seeking-to-stop-protest-in-the-uk/#more-1375