September, 04 2009, 09:33am EDT
Ahava Drops Spokesperson Amid Public Relations Fiasco
A first victory for CODEPINK's "Stolen Beauty" campaign
WASHINGTON
The Israeli cosmetics company, Ahava, which
illegally manufactures and appropriates its products in occupied
Palestinian territory, has dropped its spokesperson Kristin Davis amid
a public relations debacle sparked by the peace group CODEPINK's Stolen Beauty campaign.
As Gawker.com first reported
yesterday, 'Sex & the City' star Kristin Davis has been dropped by
Ahava. All trace of her image and mention of her name have already been
removed from Ahava's website.
Davis' dismissal, and the accompanying blow to Ahava's image, follow the successful launch of CODEPINK's Stolen Beauty
campaign designed to spread word of Ahava's illegal practices -- its
products are falsely labeled as "Made in Israel" but in actuality are
made in an illegal settlement in occupied Palestinian territory, and
often contain resources appropriated from occupied land, in clear
violation of international law.
For the past two months CODEPINK
activists have been appearing at Ahava stores, trade booths, and
online, spreading word of Ahava's illegal business practices (view
photos and publicity at www.stolenbeauty.org). Particularly newsworthy was Davis' dual role as
Ahava spokesperson and as a goodwill ambassador for the international charity
Oxfam--a group that has courageously spoken out against the illegal Israeli
settlement trade. First, CODEPINK activists reached out to Davis to dissuade her from
continuing her paid promotional appearances for Ahava. When that failed, public
pressure forced Oxfam to suspend Davis from publicity work for the charity. The
glare of publicity, including a story on Page Six of the New York Post,
surrounding that controversy appears now to have helped make
untenable Ahava's P.R. campaign centered on Davis.
While Davis' apparent hypocrisy served as a convenient initial lightning rod for mobilizing the Stolen Beauty
campaign, and has helped generate enormous press coverage of Ahava's
crimes, the campaign has yet to begin to reach its full force. In a few
weeks, another wave of activity (and a whole new pressure point for
Ahava) will be unveiled. In the meantime, though, CODEPINK activists
celebrate this first small victory, and the enormous increase in
consumer awareness it has focused on Ahava's illegal practices.
CODEPINK is a women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. wars and militarism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect our tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs.
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May 05, 2025
This is a breaking story… Please check back for possible updates...
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ended a week of speculation on Monday by announcing that she will not seek the ranking member position on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
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