Scarlett Johansson was appointed the global ambassador for Oxfam in 2007. The organization, founded in Oxford in 1942 as Famine Relief, felt Johansson would be a great fit and has continued to be their ambassador for the past seven years.
In January, Johansson was appointed the brand ambassador for SodaStream, an Israeli company that produces machines to carbonate beverages. The SodaStream factory is located in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem.
Israeli settlements (including Maale Adumim) are built on land seized from the Palestinians during the 1967 war. By the standards of the Geneva convention, the Rome Statute and the international court of justice, they have been developed illegally by Israel. Israel has thumbed its nose at international law and continued to build its settlements, including industrial parks such as the one that houses SodaStream.
The European Union has called the E1 parcel of land that Israel plans to build on, extending from Maale Adumim, a violation of international humanitarian law. Johansson, in other words, had become the face of illegal Israeli settlement activity.
Obviously, the new job posed a serious conflict for Oxfam. The charity has over the years taken a strong stance against Israel’s illegal settlement construction. There is no way Oxfam could retain its global ambassador when her new job would undermine its principles. Due to all of this, it was announced that the actress has quit her role at the global charity Oxfam.