Despite the adamant disclaimers by SodaStream's CEO this appears to be a major victory for the BDS movement.
Report: SodaStream mulling departure from West Bank plantJERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli firm SodaStream, which has been a target of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, is considering closing its West Bank factory.
CEO Daniel Birnbaum told the Israeli economic publication The Marker that the company, which makes home soft drink machines, will make a decision in the next two months.
Birnbaum said the decision would be based solely on economics.
“The considerations will be purely financial, and do not include the European boycott on manufacturing in the territories,” he told the Marker. “Nor will they include the various calls to boycott products of the company because of its location in Maale Adumim. The boycott is a nuisance, but does not cause serious financial damage. We are not giving in to the boycott. We are Zionists.”
The company is expanding its operations at a new plant in Lehavim, a Negev community near Beersheba in Israel’s South, and could consolidate its operations in whole or in part from the Maale Adumim plant. The company receives a government subsidy for its operations in Beersheba.
While a number of considerations probably went into the decision the precipitous drop in SodaStream's stock price had to be a major consideration, as well as some major retailers responding to consumer preferences by taking SodaStream off their shelves.
BDS