Boycotting for Palestine Continues

The boycott campaign against Western companies and products that support Israel has taken over many countries including the UK and social media is constantly keeping people updated on what companies should be boycotting.

Boycotting is a peaceful and silent way of protesting. It is when customers refuse to buy or use a product in hopes of making political, social, or economic changes. It hopes to inflict economic loss, and in this case, to stop companies supporting Israel.

Many popular chains like Starbucks and McDonalds are falling victim to boycotting, and people are even spray painting and protesting outside their buildings.

TikTok user Ambrose (@ambrose_darling) uploaded a video saying: “As a barista at Starbucks… there has been a significant decline in customers and orders that are coming in and being placed. I want to say a solid third of the usual amount of people that we get coming in are no longer showing up. And I’m talking these are the type of people you see literally every day, ordering all the time—they are not coming in.”

Many people are calling to boycott Starbucks after allegedly being involved with funding The Israeli Defence Forces. It is currently unclear if the boycott has made any impact on Starbucks, but many workers have taken to social media to let people know they have quit their positions and to encourage customers to boycott the company. 

EVP and Chief Partner Officer of Starbucks, Sara Kelly, put out a statement on One.Starbucks website says: “As a leadership team, we want to again express our deepest sympathy for those who have been killed, wounded, displaced and impacted following the heinous acts of terror, escalating violence and hate against the innocent in Israel and Gaza this week. Starbucks unequivocally condemns acts of hate, terrorism, and violence.”

https://www.tiktok.com/@maha.mujali/video/7298221007771487494

Some local stores in the West Midlands have taken matters into their own hands and have started showing their support for Palestine.

One street in Birmingham, Ladypool Road, is full of restaurants, local shows, takeaways, and other locally owned stores.

Managers and employees of these stores have come together to support Palestine by having flags clearly presented on their windows and some have even stopped selling Coca-Cola and Pepsi products.

Ladypool Road taken by Aasiyah Salloo

One store has gone above and beyond for the cause. Bubble tea and bao buns have gone above and beyond. In response to a comment on an Instagram post, they said: “We’ve taken further action and held a fundraising day for our brothers and sisters in Palestine. We’re also stopping the use & boycotting products that support Israel & have removed specific brands from our stores completely.”

They also have regular charity stalls where 100% of the donations from the stall are given to the Palestine Appeal with One National Charity as well as £1 frozen yogurt where the money goes towards the same cause.

Credit: Instagram- Mowchi.uk

While I was on Ladypool Road I talked to someone who comes to eat and shop on Ladypool Road regularly, Jay Yonus, he said: “Everywhere I go here I see Palestine flags and stickers… people have even started graffitiing “Free Palestine” on the walls and have flags coming out their cars. It’s nice to see so much support and to see the community come together for an important cause like this.”

In Coventry, The Farmhouse, a restaurant that has hosted many celebrities, put out a public statement on their Instagram: “As a brand and a family business, we have made the choice to discontinue the sale of all PepsiCo and Coca-Cola products due to their association with the current genocide being inflicted on the Palestinian people by the Israeli regime. 

This was met with a lot of positive feedback. The post has almost 31,0000 likes and over 1,600 comments.

Another person who wishes to stay anonymous said: “Me and friends brought “Free Palestine” and boycotting stickers which we put in stores that support Israel… We’ve gotten kicked out a couple of stores, but we don’t really care.” Which was followed by them laughing.

It’s not just England and the US who are making changes to their daily life to avoid companies supporting Israel. Even the Turkish parliament will no longer be serving Coca-Cola or Nestle products, in support of the boycott.

A statement said: “It was decided that the products of companies that support Israel will not be sold in restaurants, cafeterias, and tea houses in the parliament campus.” 

There are many other brands people are boycotting, for example, Puma, HP, Amazon, Dominos, and many more.

Credit: BDS

- Aasiyah Salloo