Written by Michael Thervil
An empty McDonald's in the Middle East due to boycotting.
It is said that businesses should not get involved in politics of any kind nor should businesses be used as proxies to the benefit of one benefactor of war or another. But unfortunately, businesses of all types across all industries do. When it comes to the Middle East, this phenomenon has become so prevalent that it has sparked the mass boycotting of American brands of all types because of a recent move that is viewed as having a political impact in terms of the Israel-Palestinian/Hamas War. Countries like Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab countries within the region recently decided to boycott McDonald’s because they decided to give away free food to the soldiers of the IDF (Israeli Defense Force).
In addition to the boycotting of McDonald’s in the Middle East, the blowback also resulted in other American companies being boycotted, essentially affecting nearly all American brands that conduct business in the region. For many Arabs in the region, the move by McDonald’s to provide free food to the IDF was seen as something that further polarized the war in the favor of Israel. The move by Arabs and practitioners of Islam in the Middle East to boycott McDonald’s in the region for the last two months resulted in a 70% profit loss for the McDonald’s corporation in the region. Other regional fast-food chains such as KFC, Burger-King, and Starbucks are also being boycotted as well.
Protestors demonstrating outside McDonalds for providing free food for the Israeli Defense Force (IDF)
Blowback was reported by smaller businesses in the region not because they support the Israeli’s; but because they carried and sold American brands such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Skittles. So, in response to that, the small businesses in the area are no longer carrying American brands and instead are relying on selling brands that are native to the region. In what Sociologist refer to as “Structural Functionalism”, it seems as if the adverse move by McDonald’s to provide free food to the IDF, serves as a huge catalyst for native regional brands to greatly benefit from both the protest of American brands and the anti-Israeli/American sentiment in the region.
Could the overwhelming majority of people in the region who choose to protest be on to something? Many, especially those that are a part of the younger generation, think that they are. However, there are some people who feel as if the boycott will not last because people are either too dependent on some western brands or suffer from having a short memory. No matter if the boycott will last or not, or if people will forget or not – the one thing that is constant is that the American based businesses that have a presence in the region (and across the world) are attempting to remain silent on the Israel-Palestinian/Hamas War. This begs the question of the day: “are the maintaining of profit margins worth more than the maintaining of social morality?”
We leave that up to you to decide.
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