Between a fizzy drink and a hard place

When a celebrity steps into a political storm not only is it great fun to follow the robust speculation, it's also fascinating to imagine what went on in that person's mind.

Gorgeous actress Scarlett Johansson last week faced a triple dilemma. She was briefly caught between the sensitive issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, the greening of the planet and her Oxfam work. Stepping into a raging fire, she subsequently stepped out of her role as an ambassador for Oxfam, the humanitarian organisation that works "to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice".

At a time when there are sensitive talks (yes, again) about negotiating a peace settlement between Israelis and the Palestinians, ScarJo appears in an advert for SodaStream. Nothing wrong with that, you'd think, although it does seem a bit odd to me that the much in demand Thespian would need to sip sexily on a straw for an extra buck.

I've been interested in buying a SodaStream myself. I love a bottle of sparkling water and spend way too much money and then too much time agonising about the green ethics of doing so. Owning a SodaStream would mean I could fizz my own Jozi water. But until last week I had no idea the machines were largely manufactured in a Jewish settlement, Ma'ale Adumim, near Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank.

You may disagree with me, but I believe the standards of the Geneva Convention, the Rome Statute and the international court of justice are right in stating that a settlement like this one has been built illegitimately. I feel, too, we should avoid buying products made by Israel in settlements.

After Oxfam made clear this commercial sponsorship is incompatible with her ambassadorial role, ScarJo announced her resignation, saying that, "SodaStream is a company that is not only committed to the environment but to building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine".

There couldn't really have been much of a dilemma for her. When you think about it, the manufacturing of these machines leaves a heavy carbon footprint.

I also wonder if ScarJo's Oxfam work ever took her to the West Bank to see the impact of settlements on Palestinians' lives? I have. It's horrible.

For me, it's hard, and possibly unfair, to try to understand what the complexities and loyalties must be of a famous Jewish woman with a powerful voice. But whatever these are, it's clear where ScarJo stands on the settlement issue.