The conflict over relations with Israel intensified when one of the world’s most popular skincare brands, Nivea, became involved. It is necessary to have an understanding of the corporate composition of Nivea, its mother organization Beiersdorf, marketing strategy, and the problem of political sensitivity between Israel and the Palestinian territories to answer a question: Does Nivea take Israel as its side? Nivea is one of the notable companies involved in skin care on the earth, having been established in Germany in 1882 by Carl Paul Beiersdorf. This company is a part of Beiersdorf AG, which is a global company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The other leading brands that belong to Beiersdorf are Labello, Aquaphor, and Eucerin. Beiersdorf is present in the global market, and the same is true of the Middle East, where consolidated sales of its products are in many regions, including Israel and the Palestinian territory. To respond to the question of whether Nivea supported Israel, it is necessary to have knowledge on the policies and practices of Beiersdorf.
Israel’s omission from Nivea’s website
The outrage began after it was discovered that even though the Palestinian territories were referred to as countries where their products are sold, the same could not be said of Israel. This omission created outrage, especially amongst the advocacy organizations and Israeli consumers. The list of countries in the site did not contain the nation of Israel; hence, Israeli actress and model Becky Griffin came forth voicing her surprise and disappointment by arguing that it was good enough to sell goods made in the country, yet not good enough to be a member of the rest of the world.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a popular Jewish human rights organization, charged that the corporation had in effect sponsored an action to boycott Israel and criticized the deletion and demanded an explanation and restoration of Israel on the website.
Beiersdorf’s justification and reaction
In response, Beiersdorf said that the deletion was made for practical rather than political reasons. Israel, like Malta and Cyprus, was not mentioned individually on the website because, according to the business, Nivea’s operations in Israel are run from Greece. Beiersdorf swiftly restored Israel to the website in response to the public outcry and declared plans to create a Hebrew- and English-only Israeli website. This action was perceived as an effort to resolve the issues and prevent additional criticism.
Does Beiersdorf support Israel politically or economically?
Much boycott demand has accompanied the debate that Beiersdorf, a German-based parent company of Nivea, supports Israel both politically and economically. Specifically, Beiersdorf has come to be very popular as one of the German businesses that openly expressed its support for Israel, in particular, its occupation policies. Consequently, Beiersdorf has been accused of funding illegal activities in Israel in the settlements that are largely considered to be against international law. Following such complicity, pro-Palestinian organizations and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement urged customers to boycott Beiersdorf and its affiliate Nivea along with the brands.
In economic terms, Beiersdorf has a commercial stake in Israel and the adjacent environment as it carries on trade. Although some of its business dealings, such as the selling of products in Israel by a Greek subsidiary, can be cited as non-political but a practical choice on its part, the active support of Israel by Beiersdorf and the corporate stand in general can increase its economic ties with the Israeli government.
Politically, the position of Beiersdorf is in line with the position of Germany, which was reiterated by the German government in 2025 and is on the side of Israel to have the right to exist and defend itself. Germany continues to support humanitarian aid, the two-state solution, which will be agreed upon, and the security of Israel. Such a bigger German political structure is in line with Beiersdorf openly supporting Israel.
Consumer reaction and boycott call
The primary argument of the boycott requests towards Nivea is that the parent firm of its businesses, Beiersdorf, is believed to have backed the Israeli policies, particularly the Israeli policy towards occupation and settlements to be imposed on the Palestinian region. Beiersdorf is also targeted by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement led by the Palestinians and chasing companies that are believed to fund the Israeli government, according to the alleged apartheid and human rights violations.
The BDS movement accuses companies such as Beiersdorf of contributing to Israeli occupation, apartheid, and settler-colonialism by either providing a financial boost or making a profit out of doing business in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. It is felt that this collusion leads to continuous human rights, international law violations. Activists view the 106 German firms that formally supported Israel, especially Beiersdorf, as supporters of the Israeli government’s policies, which include those of military operations and settlements. Nivea was facing criticism back in 2005 when it did not mention Israel in its list of countries on its official web page, when it included Palestinian territories as one such country. Some interpreted this as a political gesture, even though Beiersdorf justified it on logistical grounds, and this gave momentum to calls of the group.
Some customers consider Nivea a grey area, and refer to the fact that the politics of the company are not explicitly determined, and their boycott occurs on the parent company, but not on the brand directly, although a lot of consumers agree with the boycott.
Challenges for Nivea in the Israel-Palestine conflict
The battle remains an intense one and unresolved until 2025. The war against Hamas in Gaza is still going on, and these continued attacks and blockades are causing great humanitarian issues, like famine situations and the exodus of Palestinians. The tense situation is aggravated by the large number of bloodshed and military actions that take place in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel is characterized by a large amount of internal conflict and division, even reflected by the increasing systemic bipartisanship, demonstrations, and conscription objectors. Surveys of mass opinion indicate shameful gaps between attitudes toward Palestinians and the future of the conflict and highlight the existential socioeconomic chandelier that businesses will have to deal with.
Companies are faced with pressure to ensure they do not in any way assist or benefit when there is abuse of human rights or a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Final thoughts: Does Nivea support Israel?
Beiersdorf, as the parent company of Nivea, does support Israel publicly, as observed through their pro-Israel business campaigns. The business has, however, been condemned and boycotted because it funds the Israeli occupation, settlements, and practices. The outrage over the case when Israel was not included in the Nivea site caused much anger and attention to the politics of sensitivities, despite their apparent technical nature. Personal views of customers on corporate responsibility and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often have an impact on their choice to buy or reject Nivea products. The complex geopolitical environment within which Nivea has its operations through Beiersdorf is a combination of business, politics, and consumer action.
