More than ever before the word ‘boycott’ is being thrown around but what does it mean? We learned about boycotting in elementary and middle school through history class and now it is currently happening in our generation.
Boycott is to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (a person, a store, an organization, etc.) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions according to Merriam-Webster.
People including myself are currently boycotting different companies due to the Israel-Hamas war. The reason is simple; companies like McDonalds, Puma, and HP have been giving money or support towards the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Since October 7, 10,022 Palestinians in the enclave have been killed by Israeli strikes, including 4,104 children, 2,641 women, and 611 elderly people, according to Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al Qudra. According to CNN, Israel declared war on Hamas after the Islamist militant group launched a brutal attack on October 7, killing 1,400 in Israel and kidnapping more than 240.
The boycott started for McDonald’s when it said it would donate meals to the IDF. It should be known that Palestinians don’t have an army defense. The Palestinian Authority has no military as such, it has no army, navy, or air force, according to the Institute for Middle East Understanding.
Puma is being boycotted because it is the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA), which includes teams in Israel’s illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land, according to TRT World.
Starbucks is currently being boycotted but when it comes to this situation, things are different. A union of its employees Starbucks Workers United posted to social media a pro-Palestinian post that later was deleted. The company said in a statement that “people were mistakenly tying these remarks to us, because Workers United, its affiliates and members continue to use our name, logo and intellectual property,” according to Newsweek. Starbucks then sued the labor union because of their support towards Palestine.
The main way people became aware of what companies to boycott was through Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), a Palestinian-led movement that seeks to challenge those who internationally support Israel. According to its website, these companies are complicit in the violations of Palestinian rights.
BDS has informed people about their movement by guiding what to boycott. BDS is strategically focusing on a relatively small number of companies that have been carefully selected for maximum impact. The current list has many companies, but Starbucks is not on it. The reason Starbucks is being boycotted by the public is because of the lawsuit it is serving to its labor union.
The end goal is to not give any more profits to these companies that are contributing to the violation of human rights. If you already have a Starbucks gift card, then it’s okay to use the money that is already spent; the point is to not give anymore. The same thing applies to all the other companies. It’s important to know that boycotting does not work with just a small amount of people contributing, it is best used when it is maximized for a collective impact.