Over the last year, the brutal Israeli military actions in Gaza have resulted in the death of more than 41,000 civilians. It has now been a year since the onset of Israel's war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, which reinvigorated the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The BDS movement is not a recent development, and its roots stretch far beyond October 7. The boycott of brands tied to Israel or the U.S.'s backing of Israel dates back over two decades.
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a nonviolent initiative that advocates for boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel.
The BDS movement, established in 2005, emerged from a campaign initiated by 171 Palestinian non-governmental organizations that called for an end to the Israeli occupation.
In this article, Misbar will investigate the impact of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement over the past year.
What is the BDS Movement?
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. In 2005, 171 Palestinian civil society groups initiated the BDS movement to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, secure equal rights for Palestinians, and uphold the right of return for refugees. The movement encourages individuals, organizations, and nations to boycott Israeli goods, withdraw investments from companies that support Israeli policies, and implement sanctions against the Israeli government to achieve these goals.
BDS has achieved numerous successful initiatives, including divestment and sanctions, through boycott calls and campaigns in various fields.
The movement asks supporters to abstain from Israeli cultural institutions and even to refrain from working with Israeli universities and academics that help prop up dehumanizing narratives about Palestinians and the occupied territories. Additionally, the boycott campaigns have affected several companies on the business front.
While BDS has been present for two decades, it has recently gained more attention, particularly due to the ongoing Gaza war, which has put its goals and impact in the spotlight.
The BDS Movement Campaigns
BDS has been known for its boycotts that encompass not just Israeli products and companies but also non-Israeli corporations that are considered to be in support of the oppression of Palestinians.
In response to the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip after October 7, the BDS movement initiated a protest to cease all dealings with companies supporting the Israeli occupation. This effort, documented on the official Facebook page of the BDS movement, includes statements from several companies supporting the Israeli occupation army. Additionally, the BDS movement has initiated a campaign to boycott these brands.
“The BDS movement encourages the continued pressure on those who support Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza. But at the same time, let us strengthen our targeted campaigns and boycott the most complicit companies to maximize our impact!”
On social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, the hashtag #BDSMovement is being used to identify brands with ties to Israel and call for boycotts.
In 2017, Israel enacted a law prohibiting individuals who advocate for boycotting Israel from entering the country. This legislation empowers the Israeli Interior Ministry to deny entry visas and residency permits to those who actively participate in boycott campaigns against Israel.
The BDS movement, with its three core demands (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) and its various campaigns, has brought the Israeli aggression on Gaza to the forefront of global awareness.
Among BDS’s most successful endeavors has been the significant divestment from weapons manufacturers, such as Elbit Systems (the primary arms supplier to the IOF, by companies, investment funds, and public institutions that the movement has lobbied in recent months, including Norway’s largest pension fund, KLP (Kommunal Landspensjonskasse Gjensidig Forsikringsselskap); New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZSF); Dutch and Danish pension funds; HSBC; and AXA.
Previously, Misbar published reports regarding the BDS Movement, highlighting the companies that back Israel in its conflict with Gaza and are encountering calls for a boycott.
Moreover, the movement has affected corporations, artists, universities, and organizations.
BDS Movement Impacts McDonald's Sales
McDonald's, the largest fast food chain globally, became a focus of the boycott after one of its locations in Israel provided complimentary meals to the Israeli military. In a series of Instagram posts, McDonald's Israel stated that it was donating thousands of free meals to IOF soldiers as well as hospitals.
On October 13, the American news magazine Newsweek reported a statement from McDonald's Israel, which said “Update that already yesterday we donated 4000 meals to hospitals and military units; we intend to donate thousands of meals every day to soldiers in the field and in drafting areas, and this is beyond a discount to soldiers coming to restaurants. We opened 5 restaurants that were open only for this purpose."
On October 22, McDonald's Israel wrote on the X platform, “McDonald's Israel, since the outbreak of the war on October 7, gives a 50% discount to uniformed soldiers and security and rescue forces. McDonald's Israel, since the outbreak of the war on October 7, has been giving 100,000 free meals to the security and rescue forces, the residents of the perimeter, and the hospitals, worth 5 million NIS.”
On January 4, McDonald’s chairman and CEO, Chris Kempczinski, clarified in a letter posted on LinkedIn that the decision to provide meals to the Israeli army was an action “from our local business partners" and “was made independently, without McDonald’s consent or approval.”
Chris Kempczinski added that “war and associated misinformation” was hurting the company’s performance in the Middle East.
Kempczinski also condemned “violence” and “hate speech” and emphasized that McDonald’s has not issued any statements of support for Israel or the ongoing war in Gaza and called the backlash “disheartening and ill-founded.”
The fast food chain reported its first quarterly sales miss in nearly four years due to weak growth in its international business division.
According to a BBC report, McDonald's global sales grew by just under 4% in the fourth quarter, down from 8.8% in the previous quarter and below its annual average.
On April 4, McDonald's announced that it will buy Alonyal Limited, which owns and operates 225 restaurants in Israel. The company stated that it would manage these locations and retrain over 5,000 employees, aiming to revitalize sales that have declined due to boycotts in the region.
“We thank Alonyal Limited for building the McDonald’s business and brand in Israel over the past 30 years. McDonald’s remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward,” said Jo Sempels, President of International Developmental Licensed Markets at McDonald’s Corporation.
Significant Decline in Starbucks Sales Following the Anti-Israel Boycott
Calls to boycott Starbucks began following a legal dispute between the franchise and Starbucks Workers United, a union representing certain employees, over the union’s pro-Palestinian social media posts.
On October 10, the Starbucks Workers United members account on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted a simple “Solidarity with Palestine” message.
According to The New York Post, the union deleted the message within an hour.
As a response, Starbucks issued a statement on October 18, announcing that it “unequivocally condemns these acts of terrorism, hate, and violence” and disagreed with the stance expressed in the post of Starbucks Workers United.
Claiming the social media posts angered customers and harmed Starbucks’s reputation, the corporation filed a litigation suit claiming trademark infringement, demanding the union cease using a logo and organization title that associates them with Starbucks.
On October 17, Starbucks Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly updated all U.S. partners in a letter about her communication with Workers United International President Lynne Fox. She demanded that Workers United stop using the Starbucks name and branding and disengage from discussions that misrepresent the company’s position on the Israeli war.
In March, Kuwait-based AlShaya Group, the company that owns the Starbucks Middle East franchise, revealed it had to cut 2,000 jobs due to the boycotts, amounting to around 4% of its workforce due to the impact of boycotts.
On January 30, Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan reported lower earnings to investors and admitted that the pro-Palestinian boycotts and protests abroad had cut into the company’s profits, both domestically and overseas.
“We saw a negative impact on our business in the Middle East,” Narasimhan said. “Events in the Middle East also had an impact in the US, driven by misperceptions about our position.” That’s about as close as one will get to an admission that executives, by reacting with such hostility to a simple “Solidarity with Palestine” Workers United tweet, had made a costly political blunder, damaging company profits.
On August 8, The Financial Times reported that Americana Restaurants, which operates big U.S. food chains across the Middle East, including KFC, Pizza Hut, and Krispy Kreme, saw profits drop 40% in the second quarter of 2024.
KFC Malaysia Closes Over 100 Outlets Amid Gaza Boycott
Following calls for a boycott amid protests against U.S. support for Tel Aviv in the wake of Israeli attacks on the Palestinian-besieged enclave of Gaza since October 7, KFC has had to scale back its operations throughout Malaysia, particularly in the northeastern state of Kelantan.
On April 29, QSR Brands, which runs KFC restaurants in Malaysia, announced that it is temporarily closing its 108 outlets across the country.
In the statement, QSR Brands cited “challenging economic conditions” for the closures and that employees had been offered the opportunity to relocate to busier stores, saying that the company contributes “positively to the Malaysian economy through job security for 18,000 team members in Malaysia, of which approximately 85 percent are Muslims.”
“Employees from the affected stores were offered the opportunity to relocate to operating stores as part of a tactical strategy to optimize resources in trade zones with higher customer engagement,” the company said.
According to the Chinese newspaper, Nanyang Siang Pao, the American fast food chain “KFC” had to close 108 of its branches due to the sanctions imposed by the people of Malaysia.
According to Nanyang Siang Pau, information from Google Maps indicates which KFC locations are marked as "temporarily closed."
“To mitigate the impact of the boycott, QSR changed its branding strategy to become more Islamic on its website in the fourth quarter of last year,” according to a source at QSR, cited by The Jakarta Post.
Domino's Pizza Sales in Asia Drop 8.9% Amid Global Boycott Campaign
BDS activists have identified the pizza chain Domino’s as one of the companies that “remained silent when its franchisee in Israel backed acts of genocide,” amid accusations that Israeli locations also provided complimentary meals to Israeli soldiers.
On January 24, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises, the Australia-based franchise managing Domino’s outlets in New Zealand, Asia, and Europe, reported that consumer aversion to U.S. brands amid the Israel-Palestine crisis was partially linked to sales difficulties in Asia towards the end of last year.
The company reported an 8.9% drop in same-store sales in Asia during the latter half of last year, contributing to what it described as a “clearly disappointing” phase.
In a call with analysts and investors, Domino’s managing director Don Meij said that the pizza chain’s poor sales in Asia stemmed from anti-American sentiment, declaring, “It’s well-publicized that American brands in Asia, and I largely talk to Malaysia in this case, have been affected by what’s happening in the Middle East right now.”
BDS Movement Blocks Explosives Shipment to Israel
On October 15, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) announced the success of the #BlockTheBoat campaign in preventing the explosive-laden ship “Catherine” from reaching Israel.
The BDS movement stated that its ongoing efforts led the Maltese government to bar the ship from accessing its waters, while other countries such as Namibia and Angola refused to give the ship access to dock in their ports.
The movement reported that the ship, which flew the Portuguese flag, carried eight containers of explosives intended for manufacturing high-explosive bombs, destined for Israel to support its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The BDS movement praised the persistent efforts of its partners in the #BlockTheBoat campaign in Malta, Portugal, and worldwide, and saluted all who responded to the call, from Namibia to Montenegro, Angola, and Malaysia.
In a statement, the movement said, "While the Israeli enemy continues its genocidal aggression against our people in Gaza, escalates ethnic cleansing policies in the West Bank, and expands its brutal massacres against the brotherly people of Lebanon, we must intensify and escalate our pressure on governments to prevent the reception of this or any other ship that fuels the Israeli war and genocide machine."
Furthermore, the BDS movement called for escalating pressure on governments to prevent complicity with the Israeli colonial regime and to implement military sanctions against it.
‘No Thanks’ App Launches Boycott on Products Linked to Israel
On November 13, a pro-Palestinian free app called “No Thanks” was launched by Palestinian graduate student Ahmed Bashbash to help consumers boycott Israeli products.
The app enables consumers to scan product barcodes to determine if the item has connections to Israel.
On April 8, “No Thanks” reported one million people had downloaded the app. Millions of users had viewed tikTok influencer videos promoting “No Thanks,” contributing to the app’s growth of 900,000 downloads in four months.
The application developer, Ahmed Bashbash, told DW by email that he lost his brother "in this massacre" and that his sister died in 2020 because she did not receive medical support from Israel in time. "I made it on behalf of my brother and my sister, who I lost because of this brutal occupation, and my goal is to try to prevent what happened to me from happening to another Palestinian."
Ahmed Bashbash stated that he compiled the list of companies that allegedly support Israel with the help of the websites "Boycotzionism" and "Ulastempat."
NFDC Cancels Israeli Film Festival in Mumbai Following BDS Boycott Campaign
On August 19, the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) canceled the “Israel Film Festival” in Mumbai in response to an online signature campaign against the event.
The festival was scheduled to be held at the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) between August 21 and 22, 2024.
The campaign, organized by the India Palestine Solidarity Forum, aimed to raise awareness about the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
“Thus, at this moment in our collective human history, for the NFDC and the NMIC to be screening Israeli films is totally immoral, unethical, unconscionable, and a travesty of justice to say the least,” the group said in a statement.
U.S. Credit Agency Downgraded Israel’s Rating for the Second Time in 2024
On September 27, the U.S. rating agency Moody’s announced that the company downgraded Israel’s credit rating for a second time this year, citing growing political instability and economic uncertainty. The downgrade follows concerns over the country’s contentious judicial reforms and their impact on Israel’s institutional framework and economic performance, in addition to the lack of an Israeli “exit strategy.”
The prominent credit rating agency cut Israel’s score from A2 to Baa1, raising concerns that domestic political risks have increased alongside geopolitical ones “with material negative consequences for the country’s creditworthiness in both the near and longer term.”
According to The Times of Israel, a lower credit rating makes it more expensive for the Israeli government to raise debt at a time when it needs billions of shekels to fund the costs of the ongoing war, while investors see more risk to investing in the country.
Puma Drops Sponsorship of Israeli Football Association
On December 11, the German sportswear giant Puma announced it will not be renewing its 6-year contract with the Israeli national football team in 2024.
In a statement emailed to the Reuters news agency, a Puma spokesperson said the company’s contracts with several federations, including Serbia and Israel, were due to expire in 2024 and would not be renewed.
“While two newly signed national teams—including a new statement team—will be announced later this year and in 2024, the contracts of some federations, such as Serbia and Israel, will expire in 2024,” the spokesperson said.
According to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), PUMA has lost millions of pounds in lucrative contracts because of pressure applied by the campaign.
“PUMA’s decision is an important victory that shows the power of the solidarity movement. We’ve sent all corporations a powerful message: if you choose to be complicit in Israeli apartheid, you will face the strength of the solidarity movement. We will continue to grow our BDS campaigns against banks like Barclays and corporations like JCB, who are complicit in Israel’s system of apartheid,” PSC Director Ben Jamal said.
Read More
This Video Does Not Show Recent Hezbollah Strike on Israeli Military Base
Propagandist Claims of Gazans Staging the Aftermath of Israeli Attack on Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital
