There isn’t an easy way to describe the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. I want to say that the last few months have been crazy, but that would be partly untrue. Yes, there has been a lot going on; however, the problems Palestinians have been facing aren’t exactly new.
So much has been coming out about the tragedies that the people of Palestine have been facing. Every day countless articles are released discussing the atrocities that Israel commits. What makes this worse is that it seems like the majority of people believe that the conflict is a recent event. In reality, it started all the way back in 1948 when Israel declared its independence.
As a country we have to ask ourselves a question: How are we, the United States, responding to this.
America has an extremely long history of joining in other nations’ conflicts, especially if it’s for a cause we deem as just, acting almost as a global peacekeeper. The two most well-known examples of this would be when the U.S. entered the Vietnam and Korean War as an attempt to prevent the spread of communism.
So how are we, one of seven global superpowers, responding to seeing Palestine getting repeatedly attacked? We joined the side of the people against them.
The United States has decided to side with Israel and has been doing so for a long time. The earliest record of us having a positive relationship with Israel dates all the way back to the late 1940s when America became the first state country to recognize Israel as an independent state.
In the modern age, we have been showering the country with financial, military and political support. According to researcher Sahar Okhovat, we have used our United Nations Security Council veto power a substantial 42 times between 1991 and 2011 against resolutions condemning Israel.
It’s not just the government supporting Israel however, many popular American brands and actors have been very vocal about who they side with in the conflict.
Many companies have made posts on their social media discussing the conflict. The posts all follow the same pattern. They open up by framing the people of Palestine as the enemy and close with them sending their thoughts and prays to Israel. In most cases, this is the most effort these brands put in. However, sometimes they go the extra mile.
McDonald’s and Starbucks have made headlines for their support of Israel. The Hill journalist Miranda Nazzaro reported that McDonald’s has been providing Israeli soldiers with free meals.
Meanwhile, Starbucks sued Workers United, the union organizing its workers, for a pro-Palestinian social media post, saying that it would damage the company’s reputation, according to Dee-Ann Durbin from AP.
There are a few more major companies supporting or helping Israel, such as HP who’s helping run the biometric ID system that Israel uses to restrict Palestinian movement. However, the two I previously mentioned differ from others due to how the public reacted.
For a few months now, McDonald’s and Starbucks have been the target of a mass boycott. Countless regular customers are now refusing to shop at the restaurant due to their direct or implied support for Israel.
There have been countless boycotts throughout the years, with various degrees of success. In most cases, the boycott slowly fades away and people forget about it. This one is different however.
The two mega corporations have seen a huge loss in their earnings. Beth Kowitt from Bloomberg reported that Starbucks lost about 9 percent of its market share, which translates to about 11 billion dollars.
We don’t have a concrete amount for McDonald’s yet, however, the CEO released a report on Monday saying the ongoing tensions in the Middle East are putting a dent in its business. Upon the news release, investors’ shares dropped by about 3.7 percent.
With all that being said, what is the future of the boycott looking like? I usually try to avoid getting ahead of myself in these articles, however, this is an exception.
We the people have successfully been able to scare these two large and powerful corporations. They now know that they’re not invincible and that their actions have consequences.
I can see the boycott expanding out to other companies, affecting the likes of Burger King and Kraft, two other brands that have shown direct support for Israel.
This can also show other companies that we are not willing to sit and watch them support the massacre of innocent people, making them think twice about if and how they want to support Israel.
I truly believe that if we continue fighting back, we can make things a little easier for Palestine and its people. Don’t forget, free Palestine.