Susan Yara faces boycott after posting photos in Tel Aviv

Susan Yara, founder of the popular US skincare brand Naturium, is facing widespread calls for a boycott following photographs posted to her Instagram account that social media users identified as having been taken on a Tel Aviv beach.

While Yara did not explicitly state the location of the photographs posted last month, followers noted that buildings visible in the background closely resembled the Hilton Hotel along Tel Aviv’s beachfront.

Another apparent indication of her location was an image featuring ‘Israeli’ model Stav Netanel-Nagar alongside Yara.

Netanel-Nagar stated that she has also faced an online backlash campaign as a result of the post.

Yara initially built a public following through her YouTube channel “Mixed Makeup” before establishing Naturium in 2019.

The Instagram post attracted intense scrutiny over Yara’s apparent visit to ‘Israel’ during the ongoing war in Gaza. In response, some users urged consumers to stop purchasing Naturium products in line with the anti-‘Israel’ Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which campaigns for economic, cultural, and academic boycotts of ‘Israel’.

A number of commenters indicated they would actively seek out alternatives to Naturium’s product line or cease purchasing from the brand entirely.

“Can’t wait until you’re ready to care for human rights, Susan,” wrote one user, who noted they would unfollow both Yara and her YouTube channel.

Yara also received pushback from prominent figures within the online beauty sector. Speaking to the beauty platform Glossyco, esthetician Kamryn Jackson characterized the apparent vacation as “willfully ignorant, tone deaf and inconsiderate” given the context of the war in Gaza.