It’s a (literally) bubbling oasis of peaceful coexistence in a region often characterized as a focal point for ethnic strife and geopolitical conflict. The SodaStream production facility in the Judean community of Ma’aleh Adumim was thrust into the limelight recently when celebrity spokeswoman Scarlett Johansson refused to bow to pressure from anti-Israel activists, even as it cost her her position as Oxfam’s global ambassador. And it was this selfsame factory that celebrated TV and radio personality Mike Huckabee came to see for himself on Tuesday, June 24. The visit—and indeed, the entire trip—was arranged by intrepid Israel activist Dr. Joe Frager, with his colleagues Dr. Paul Brody and Mrs. Odelya Jacobs, all under the auspices of Ateret Cohanim. Frager and Brody work with the American branch of the organization, which was established in order facilitate the purchase—on behalf of the Jewish people—of real estate in East Jerusalem and other holy sites from any Arab property owners willing to sell.

Huckabee began his latest Israel tour Sunday by paying a solidarity visit to the Israeli-American Frenkel family, whose son Naftali is one of three teenaged boys kidnapped by terrorists on their way home from school last Thursday.On Monday, he visited sites acquired in recent years by Ateret Cohanim in the portion of Jerusalem’s Old City commonly referred to as the Muslim Quarter. One of these, Beit Zion, is being used as an IDF preparatory academy. The other, Beit Wittenberg, was once the site of the Mediterranean Hotel, where famed American author Mark Twain stayed during his storied sojourn in the Holy Land as immortalized in the book The Innocents Abroad. Also of note, a special Knesset caucus was convened in the afternoon, where, along with Huckabee and his party, dozens of MKs, government ministers, community and business leaders came together to discuss the threat of delegitimization campaigns aimed at the Jewish state.

Swords into Plowshares

Tuesday’s itinerary took Huckabee and company past the Green Line, starting with the SodaStream factory. The first thing one notices before entering the factory is a sculpture bearing an inscription, in Hebrew, of the famous verse from the Book of Isaiah wherein the prophet tells of an end to war, when the nations will “beat their swords into plowshares.” A fitting ethos for the producer of a food or beverage product that has Jews and Arabs working together—and particularly SodaStream, as the production facility was once a munitions plant.

If the Jewish-owned company was representative of Israel’s alleged oppression of Palestinians, one wouldn’t know it by speaking with the people inside. Taking pride in his company as a model for peace and cooperation and speaking highly of his entire staff, SodaStream COO Yossi Azarzar briefed the Huckabee delegation, giving him a breakdown of the numbers. Of the factory’s 1,100 employees, says Azarzar, 600 are Palestinian, and another 250 are Arabs with Israeli citizenship; all of them working side-by-side with their Jewish Israeli counterparts, both on the factory floor and in white collar positions. When the exec pointed out that SodaStream is not only one of the few employers of Palestinians that offers benefits (such as health coverage) to all its employees, but that the starting pay for entry-level workers is more than four times as much as that offered by local Palestinian-run businesses, Gov. Huckabee quipped: “Do you have any openings?”

When asked by a member of Huckabee’s entourage why SodaStream would maintain production in Ma’aleh Adumim when labor in China—where SodaStream conducts some 20% of its production—is so much cheaper, Mr. Azarzar noted simply and without hesitation: “We do so just because we are Zionists.”

Privately, we spoke with Muhammad Barhun, one of the company’s top managers, and an Arab citizen of Israel. When asked what his response is to those members of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement who would rather see SodaStream close up shop than operate in “Palestinian Territory,” Mr. Barhun told us: “You know, it’s very simple to shut down, and you can [then] find all the employees here [sitting] in their houses with no work. … But I suggest to the BDS [activists] to come here, to see how we treat the Palestinian employees over here. Here we don’t have any discrimination.”

Barhun then noted with satisfaction that his company provides economic opportunity and a decent standard of living not just for 600 Palestinian employees, but for some 600 families.

Company President Yonah Lloyd (who was also a featured speaker at Monday’s Knesset caucus), seemed to only grudgingly accept SodaStream’s newfound political significance. “The company is growing very strong despite all the negative noise in the media,” said Lloyd, adding: “We’re not a political entity, we’re a business.”

When asked what message he might like to convey to those sympathetic to companies like SodaStream that are targeted by anti-Israel activists, he said: “If you don’t want to boycott, then you should buycott.” Mr. Lloyd went on to extoll the virtues of his household soda maker, calling it “healthier” than pre-made soft drinks, as well as fun and family-friendly.

For his part, Gov. Huckabee seemed quite impressed by what he saw at the facility in Ma’aleh Adumim, praising SodaStream as a place where Israelis and Palestinians “work side by side … in peace.”

The company’s employees, he opined, “do more in a day than all the diplomats from the United States, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority have done in the past ten years. They should take a lesson from SodaStream.”

After visiting the high-profile Judea-based company, Huckabee and his delegation were received by Mayor Benny Kasriel, who lamented the fact that over the course of two presidential administrations, no U.S. diplomat has agreed to meet with himself or any representative of Ma’aleh Adumim, the largest Jewish community in the Judea-Samaria region. Kasriel also expressed his concern over a construction freeze imposed by the Israeli government under international (read: American) pressure.

Mr. Huckabee, known for his plain talk and pithy observations, noted that “If America would put as much pressure on Iran to stop building bombs as it did on Israel to stop building bedrooms, the world would be a safer place on both ends.”

In addition to his visit to Ma’aleh Adumim, Huckabee received security briefings atop East Jerusalem’s Har Hazeitim (Mount of Olives), and in the Samarian Jewish community of Tzufim, the latter given by Gershon Mesika, Chairman of the Samaria Regional Council. Recurring themes throughout Huckabee’s meetings included expressions of solidarity with the Israeli people and unreserved condemnation of those who kidnapped the three yeshiva students. Among the various hosts, sentiments repeatedly expressed included appreciation for the governor’s efforts, and the heartfelt hope that he will run for the American presidency in 2016 and undo the damage caused by the current administration to the special relationship between the United States and Israel.

Gov. Huckabee’s mission to Israel concluded, for all practical intents and purposes, on Tuesday night in the northern coastal town of Caesarea, with Birthright Israel’s annual Summer Mega-Event. Greeted as a VIP guest by thousands of screaming Jewish teens and twenty-somethings from around the world, Huckabee also met briefly with business magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife Dr. Miriam Adelson, whose philanthropy includes underwriting the bulk of Birthright’s operating expenses, and who also provided tens of millions of dollars—and some sources say as much as 150 million—to the 2012 Republican presidential campaign. In addition, he sat with and was greeted by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who referred to the Arkansas governor as both a personal friend and a “strong friend of Israel.”

Daniel Perez is a freelance writer and media consultant based in New York City. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on Twitter: @PerezFreelance.

Photo Credit:  Itsik Nisim