SodaStream update: The boycott is a “nuisance.” And “we’re Zionists.”

An hour after I hit the “publish” button on the SodaStream post, the firm’s publicist got back to me with an answer to my question about how BDS might be affecting sales. He referred me to a September 1 JTA story, which reports that the company is thinking of closing its West Bank factory (pictured below)—but purely for “financial reasons.” Those reasons do not include the boycott, which CEO Daniel Birnbaum dismissed as a mere “nuisance.” And, in case you missed the political point, he made the company’s position very clear: “We are not giving in to the boycott. We are Zionists.”

So, they‘d close the plant for financial reasons, but its location in the West Bank has nothing to do with those. Right. Also: it’s not just a beverage—it’s a political statement.