Israel v. Palestine: Business Boycott Breakdown

If you don’t know what is currently happening between Israelis and Palestinians, check out this article. The two groups are currently locked in a war over long-disputed land. With the world watching, and many choosing sides, Americans in support of Palestine quickly became aware of several brands such as Nestle, Pizza Hut, Coca-Cola, and many others supporting or donating to Israel. The number of brands was large in variety, and people began wondering how they could possibly avoid all of them. Pro-Palestine Tiktokers rushed to organize a proper boycott, spreading the information to shun two brands in particular to make their support more focused. Starbucks and McDonald’s were chosen due to their perceived outright support of Israel. 

Starbucks

On October 9th, two days after the attacks on Israeli soil by Hamas, the Starbucks Workers United Twitter page (the page for their workers’ union) shared a post that read “Solidarity with Palestine!” with an image of an Israel-Gaza fence being destroyed by a bulldozer. It was deleted in less than an hour, with the union claiming the post was put up without permission from superiors. 

The popular coffee giant filed a lawsuit against its workers’ union, claiming the tweet “damaged the company’s reputation.” And while they have not openly supported Israel in the conflict, the company released a statement saying “We unequivocally condemn acts of terrorism, hate, and violence… “ Starbucks wants its union to stop using its logo and remove the word “Starbucks” from the union name, as a way to put distance between the union and the company. 

Social media users have been bringing awareness to the issue, encouraging others to boycott the coffee giant for suppressing the free speech of their workers; those in favor of a boycott are encouraging coffee drinkers to switch to supporting local coffee shops. One employee quit her job and shared every single drink ingredient/recipe the same day, releasing a message to make your favorite frappe at home in support of Palestine. 

Starbucks does have a notable anti-union reputation. The National Labor Relations Board recently found hundreds of unfair labor practices in the company during the unionization process at several New York locations. A Starbucks in Buffalo was the first to unionize in 2021, which sparked unionization in over 360 stores in the U.S.

Starbucks is using this incident to push forward an illegal anti-union campaign and union workers called for a boycott. A nationwide effort has been recognized with Starbucks employees striking or quitting. 

There have been several videos on TikTok showcasing their local Starbucks completely empty, and many employees posting about how this fall (reportedly Starbucks’ busiest season) is unusually slow. Starbucks has since released a BOGO promotion, trying to reclaim their lost customers. 

McDonald’s

A McDonald’s operator in Israel has reportedly been offering discounts to soldiers and officers since October 7th. According to social media, they’ve given out about 100,000 free meals. Many other locations in the region have since distanced themselves from the Israeli operator, some releasing statements saying they didn’t share ownership with the Israeli franchise. 

Many believe this to be the work of the entire franchise as a whole, but due to the way the McDonald’s corporation is set up, this is simply not the case. The McDonald’s franchise model allows different locations to be run by a local franchise operator. Each operator may act independently of the brand as a whole. While this model is what allowed McDonald’s to become one of the most popular global fast-food franchises, it means the company has little to no control over its locations and its actions. 

While other franchise operators have scrambled to make statements and donations in support of Palestine, the company has not released any word nor taken a position on the issue. While it’s true that at times silence is golden, Palestinian supporters are backing the age-old quote that “picking neutrality in a situation of injustice is the same as siding with the oppressor.”

While McDonald’s hasn’t spoken on this conflict, the franchise did release an advertisement for their new “Free Fries Friday” event. The deal stated that those who have the McDonald’s app will receive free medium French fries with any order exceeding $1. It seems like this promotion is once again in response to the boycotts and negative feedback, as if the company is trying to win customers back before their revenue starts taking serious damage. A TikToker pointed out that it’s also possible that this deal might be trying to cover up the Israeli location’s actions. When this began, if one searched “McDonald’s free food” information about the Israeli branch’s actions popped up, but now when searching the same phrase you receive news about the Free Fries Friday and coupon promotions.