General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSodastream is on sale at a retailer I like, but...
their site also shows its produced in Israel. So glad I noticed. Any other good fizzy water makers out there?
FoxNewsSucks
(12,009 posts)to spend their money where they want, for their own reasons.
nilram
(3,591 posts)to discuss how they are spending their money.
I did not say you shouldn't. You may spend your money where you wish. But note -- DU is a DISCUSSION board. So I'm discussing.
(On edit: I'm probably misreading your intention. Wasn't aware there was push back elsewhere about this.)
FoxNewsSucks
(12,009 posts)I try as much as possible to not buy from places whose politics hurt me and others. I don't see anything wrong with saying so.
nilram
(3,591 posts)Feel like my posting was relatively innocuous -- not calling for a boycott, but making my own intentions known.
hlthe2b
(115,169 posts)that enable Trump's and other policies that I find to hurt this country. And, I probably wouldn't consider doing so against an Israeli company because my issue is with our (and their) governments, specifically Netanyahu's government--not their people.
That said, I do believe we have the right to use our money as we wish and that includes NOT purchasing from companies with which we have major longstanding disagreements as to how they conduct themselves or those they enable with their $$. And, like you, I DO believe we should be able to civilly discuss it here in such a manner that makes clear no one is promoting ethnic, racial, religious, or related bigotry. The latter is conflated far too often lately. sigh...
mucifer
(25,759 posts)Buy products made in Israel while Netanyahu and the government are doing what they are doing unless the company is clearly against their government.
yardwork
(69,919 posts)If not, why not?
mucifer
(25,759 posts)boycott Target, I try to not buy foods with palm oil and I am a vegan and boycott a whole lot of things because of my food choices.
We all make choices.
yardwork
(69,919 posts)I wasn't aware that the company itself is doing bad things. I've read the entire thread so far and all I see is that SodaStream is a company based in Israel. If that's the extent of its wrong doing then isn't every company based in the U.S. equally at fault?
Violet_Crumble
(36,458 posts)If you click on this link, it will assist in learning about why Sodastream is being boycotted.
I'm not sure if yr request for information is genuine, but I'll take it at face value and give you a very lazy answer thanks to my buddy copilot (if it's good enough to use at work, it's good enough for something like this).
SodaStream is being boycotted primarily because of its **historic and ongoing links to Israeli settlement activity and alleged human‑rights violations**, according to multiple recent sources.
### 🧭 Core reason for the boycott
The boycott originates from the **Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)** movement, which began targeting SodaStream in 2011 because the company operated a major factory in **Maale Adumim**, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. This settlement was built on the remains of several Palestinian villages, and economic activity there is considered illegal under international law. [cjpme.org](https://www.cjpme.org/fs_244)
### 📌 Key allegations behind the boycott
- **Operating in an illegal settlement
*
SodaStreams West Bank factory directly contributed to the settlements economy and benefited from tax breaks, cheap land, and lax labour oversight. [cjpme.org](https://www.cjpme.org/fs_244)
- **Exploitation of Palestinian labour
*
Palestinian workers reported **inhumane conditions**, 12‑hour shifts, discriminatory permit systems, and fear of instant dismissal. One worker described feeling humiliated and enslaved. [cjpme.org](https://www.cjpme.org/fs_244)
- **Misleading marketing
*
UK regulators were alerted in 2025 that SodaStream marketed itself as a symbol of Jews and Arabs working side‑by‑side in peace, despite evidence of discriminatory practices and broader human‑rights concerns. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/international-centre-of-justice-for-palestinians_pressrelease-palestine-freepalestine-activity-7394762287225532417-Obms)
- **Ongoing concerns after relocation
*
Although SodaStream closed its West Bank factory in 20142015 due to international pressure, its new plant in the **Negev (Naqab)** is located near areas where **Bedouin communities have been forcibly displaced**. Activists argue the company still benefits from unjust land policies. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/international-centre-of-justice-for-palestinians_pressrelease-palestine-freepalestine-activity-7394762287225532417-Obms)
- **Continuing legal and ethical exposure
*
Advocacy groups note that SodaStreams past settlement operations and current location near displacement zones keep it tied to activities deemed unlawful by international legal bodies. [palestiniangenocide.org](https://palestiniangenocide.org/boycott/companies/sodastream/)
### 🧨 Why the boycott continues today
Even after relocating, SodaStream remains on boycott lists because critics argue the company is still **entangled in systems of occupation, discrimination, and forced displacement**, and because its marketing allegedly obscures these issues. Retailers in the UK and elsewhere have been urged to suspend sales pending ethical reviews. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/international-centre-of-justice-for-palestinians_pressrelease-palestine-freepalestine-activity-7394762287225532417-Obms)
There ya go. You don't have to agree with someone's decision to boycott, you could even make fun of that decision, but what there's absolutely no right to is to feel morally superior to someone who does boycott. In Sodastream's case it's very easy because it's total crap anyway. Much more difficult for me has to no longer buy anything from Weber
Violet_Crumble
(36,458 posts)Is there a problem with me boycotting US and Israeli goods and businesses? What I do with my money is no-one else's business but mine.
TheProle
(4,206 posts)as well as a lot of threads similar to yours. So if your goal is to legitimately find product, you should try searching "soda stream options not made in israel"; if your goal is advocacy, do continue...
nilram
(3,591 posts)That it is produced in Israel is news to me and the post was mainly about raising awareness. And promoting discussion.
TheProle
(4,206 posts)in fairness, so is forthrightly "I just heard sodastream is made in Israel and that's a dealbreaker for me. What do you all think?"
nilram
(3,591 posts)TheProle
(4,206 posts)taking time in good faith to offer alternatives, when you really just want to bash Israel.
nilram
(3,591 posts)Both things are true. I don't like Israel, and I do like fizzy water. You'll see my expressions of both here.
choie
(7,108 posts)They're legitimately asking for alternatives. There's more blatant ways one can bash Israel, if so desired.
regnaD kciN
(27,751 posts)but in one of the illegal West Bank settlements.
Manatee
(60 posts)out of there in 2015.
FoxNewsSucks
(12,009 posts)Fiendish Thingy
(24,441 posts)Last I looked, it was one of the few joint Israeli/Palestinian businesses.
Skittles
(173,611 posts)nilram
(3,591 posts)Skittles
(173,611 posts)right?
sheshe2
(99,028 posts)Not everyone in Israel supports Netanyahu any more than all of us in the US supports our regime.
gulliver
(14,158 posts)The most liberal, progressive, multi-cultural, multi-racial country in the ME by far. It's not even close.
Having said that, SodaStream is not the way to go. You will get better and cheaper seltzer by just going to Amazon and buying a few attachments to use with a standard, food grade 5 or 10 lb CO2 tank. Check YouTube. It's simple. It's what I do, and I get very fizzy water dirt cheap.
TVguyCards
(76 posts)Also, the "ally" part. They sure are a great ally, for Trump's fascism. After all. Bibi is called "The Trump of The Middle East".
nilram
(3,591 posts)about half of my regular price. I've been debating this forever because of the cost-versus-counter space debate. If we're talking a dime a liter, you've tipped me over the edge. I'll check out YouTube and elsewhere.
Can't disagree with your statement on Israel, though if you include expats, UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar would outstrip their multi-cultural & multi-racial stats. Though I do object to their liberal interpretation of their own borders, their liberal use of bombs, tanks, and snipers, and their progressive destruction of Gaza.
gulliver
(14,158 posts)Paid for itself pretty fast. You do have to front for the CO2 tank the first time, but it is exchangeable afterward. One gotcha is that if you wait too long to use up a tank, they'll hit you up with an inspection fee when you exchange it.
I started doing this maybe 10 years ago. At that time, the SodaStream looked like it was going to require me to constantly buy or refill their CO2 containers. I go through about a liter per day on average. So that's a lot of CO2. I ended up getting a 10 lb tank, and it has lasted me probably 4 years and still has a pretty good charge.
Also, I don't think The SodaStream used let you easily decide for yourself how fizzy you want the water. I like it very fizzy. SodaStream may have improved by now.
Good luck!
nilram
(3,591 posts)NewHendoLib
(61,943 posts)It's good stuff and cheap.
TxGuitar
(4,380 posts)Achieves a similar result
hlthe2b
(115,169 posts)Since I tend to live on black coffee, unsweetened green tea and water, it is the one semi-sweet/reasonably healthy drink I enjoy.
NewHendoLib
(61,943 posts)nilram
(3,591 posts)I just would like it to be cheaper
. I do like gulliver's suggestion in post 13 here, about finding somewhat do-it-yourself options on YouTube.
obamanut2012
(29,668 posts)Designed in Sweden, made in China. Swedish company, I like their carbonator.
nilram
(3,591 posts)yardwork
(69,919 posts)If not, why not?
Skittles
(173,611 posts)yardwork
(69,919 posts)Skittles
(173,611 posts)it's what I expected
nilram
(3,591 posts)I'd say yes. Are they the prime motivator? Would Gaza be destroyed if Israel didn't want it? I don't think so.
DONE here
nilram
(3,591 posts)Includes my favorite tonic water, which was a sponsor of his inauguration, a comic I like, even though it's not quite confirmed he's a Trumper, Amazon, haven't used it in months. We all know there are ways to use our consumer influence, no matter how minor that may be.
yardwork
(69,919 posts)The boycott you are undertaking - "any product, company, or service that benefits Trump or Israel" - is ambitious indeed.
There is hardly any large company in this nation that isn't benefiting Trump. Many of them are paying bribes (donations) directly to him. Others are propping him up in various ways.
Will you share your list of acceptable vendors? I'm sure that many DUers look forward to using it.
nilram
(3,591 posts)We each have to work out how to follow our own morals. My moral compass points away from genocide, that's all.
Violet_Crumble
(36,458 posts)Because of the tariffs I try to avoid as many US products as possible, but it's virtually impossible to be absolutist about it. I'm going to the US next February to watch the Rugby League in Las Vegas, and figure I'm going to California and Nevada, so my money is going into states where there aren't fucking crazy lunatics in charge.
The word nuanced comes to mind in this thread again when it comes to boycotting Israel. Many years ago I go to see Ilan Pappe talk at the ANU (Australian National University). He spoke about how he felt about international academic boycotts of Israeli scholars. No way would I boycott him, but if it's some extremist loony who justifies the murder of civilians, then they're on my shit-list. I'll definitely refuse to buy anything that comes from illegal settlements in the West Bank, and I'll boycott any Israeli company that aids in the abuse of Palestinians. No apologies, and I'm fucked if I'm going to sit there justifying it to random internet people who don't understand or care about genocide.
progressoid
(53,562 posts)I'm a regular tonic user and am interested. TY.
nilram
(3,591 posts)Doesn't seem the two founders or the company are on the donor rolls. I'll look further, but maybe I can go back to Fever Tree.
Melon
(1,881 posts)The crazy thing is that Israel employs Palestinians.
vanlassie
(6,299 posts)sheshe2
(99,028 posts)hookaleft
(1,272 posts)Why is Sodastream a BDS target?
The principal manufacturing plant for the SodaStream Drinksmaker
is located in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
The settlement, called Maale Adumim, is built on land stolen from
Palestinians and is one of the largest in the West Bank. It is built on
the remains of seven Palestinian villages, which were destroyed so
that it could be built.
This particular land theft is considered the largest single
expropriation in the history of the Israeli occupation. (Who Profits:
The Israeli Occupation Industry)
The SodaStream plant brings financial benefits to Maale Adumim
and helps to cement the occupation through the economic
strengthening of the settlement.
Municipal tax paid by SodaStream goes to the Maale Adumim
Municipality, which uses these funds solely to support the growth
https://palestinecampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/The-case-against-SodaStream.pdf
Violet_Crumble
(36,458 posts)And it was because of the pressure. The problem is the new one was built inside Israel, but on land in the Negev that Bedouin tribes (Israelis) had been forcibly expelled from by the Israeli government. It's a very morally stinky company, and their product sucks anyway.
vanlassie
(6,299 posts)San Pellegrino water. Im spending a fortune on it since I discovered how crisp and delicious it is. Im so much better hydrated for the first time in my 74 years.
sheshe2
(99,028 posts)Why does it suck?
Mine is about 15 years old and still going strong. I love it and use it every day for seltzer only, I hate soda.
edhopper
(37,692 posts)Do you boycott?