Announcement of Sephora Entering Israel Market Generates Too Much Excitement

There were multiple splashy reports recently that Sephora, the well-known US beauty giant, is making its debut in Israel.

Israelis celebrated.

And, surprise, BDS anti-Israel activists fumed, announcing the company must be boycotted for having the audacity to allow their products to be sold in Israel:

Following the initial reports of Sephora’s alleged launch, campaigners from the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement told The New Arab that they firmly stood by their position that “all such companies must be boycotted”, amid ongoing scrutiny of Sephora and LVMH over their alleged links to Israel, particularly as Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza continues despite an October 2025 ‘ceasefire’.

“By starting business in Israel, directly or through an Israeli dealer/reseller, particularly under these circumstances, Sephora and its owner LVMH have chosen to deepen their complicity with Israel’s regime of genocide, apartheid and illegal military occupation — at a time when much of the world is moving in the opposite direction, and Israel’s genocidal regime is more isolated than ever.

Want some more fun though, an additional twist?

At least some Israelis are pushing for exclusion as well:

Sephora is facing backlash from some ‘Israeli’ consumers ahead of its planned entry into the ‘Israeli’ market, with calls for the retailer to exclude Huda Beauty products over founder Huda Kattan’s support for Palestine. Kattan, an Iraqi-American entrepreneur, has repeatedly expressed solidarity with Palestinians and criticized ‘Israeli’ aggression in the Gaza Strip, which left over 73,000 killed and over 174,000 wounded. Her position has previously prompted calls from some ‘Israeli’ groups to boycott her brand.

[Note that Roya news, a ‘Jordanian’ media company, puts quotation marks every time they mention Israel, although not Palestine for some reason.  They even did so in the URL – gotta give them credit for their thorough anti-Israel dedication.]

And finally, at least for now, there is clarity that in fact Sephora is not opening stores in Israel, but rather their products will be sold in a one-off deal for a limited batch of surplus stock, rather than as an ongoing operation.

So, it seems that Huda Beauty products will not be entering the Israeli market.  This is the thing that I am most disappointed about in this entire story, as what would have happened if this anti-Israel company’s products were indirectly being sold in the Holy Land?  Would BDS activists have demanded a boycott of Huda products?  Would Kattan have brought suit against Sephora to force removal of her company’s products from the Zionist entity?  And would Israelis have even cared, or would they have bought this product if they found it enhanced their natural beauty?

Maybe Sephora will be nice enough to expand their presence in Israel in the future, allowing us to get answers to these burning questions!