Friday, March 08, 2013

"SodaStream" Israeli Company with 900 Arab Employees

SodaStream is the maker of a consumer home carbonation product based on the principles of making a carbonated drink as originally invented by Guy Gilbey in 1903. The device allows users to take ordinary tap water and carbonate it to create soda water (or carbonated water) to drink. With the addition of one of over 100 different types of concentrated syrups and flavorings produced by Sodastream, owners can create carbonated beverages. After the company merged with Soda-Club in 1998, it was relaunched with an emphasis on healthier drinks.

It went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange in November 2010. Sodastream is currently headquartered in Israel, and has 13 production plants. In its marketing, the company currently focuses on environmental attractiveness of using tap water and returnable gas cylinders. Sodastream has been involved in numerous environmental projects, including waste reduction, beach cleanup and reforestation.


The EU's highest court ruled in 2010 that Sodastream was not entitled to claim a "Made in Israel" exemption from EU customs payments because of the companies' primary manufacturing plant location in the West Bank industrial park of Mishor Adumim on occupied lands.

Sodastream has been criticized for operating the manufacturing plant in the West Bank by the CODEPINK, which accuses the company of profiting from the "occupation," and Israeli non-governmental organizations Coalition of Women for Peace and Peace Now, as well as other human rights organizations. Sodastream employs 500 West Bank Palestinians, in addition to 400 Palestinians from East Jerusalem.

In face of the criticism, Daniel Birnbaum, CEO of SodaStream, replied, "Our factories are apolitical. We don’t take sides in this conflict. We are building bridges between us and the Palestinian population, and we provide our Palestinian employees with respectable employment opportunities and an appropriate salary and benefits. I want people to finally realize that we’re talking about people and that peace is possible, despite the politicians. If there were another hundred companies like us extending a hand to the other side, we would have a peace agreement, because everybody wants it, including the Palestinians. Activists have responded that SodaStream is just exploiting local cheap labor.

3 comments:

coolman said...

the world is getting crazier everyday

Anonymous said...

Arabs are backstabing people youll employ them for twenty years and treat them great and they will still hurt you if possible there very sly you have to watch out from them there dangerous they dont want to be your freind dont get decieved from this video

Anonymous said...

first check out the "yeshiva world news" story very recently about the jewish girl who was kidnapped by some arab boys and taken to shechem yet to be found (even though for a period before that when her mother tried to stop her hanging around with the boys she said they were treating her "like a princess")and then come to your conclusion.