Pro-Israeli firms feel the heat

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The global campaign to boycott products of pro-Israeli companies is gaining momentum following the Zionist state’s brutal aggression on Gaza and Saudi consumers are no exception.

Buyers in the Kingdom and other countries are shunning products made by pro-Israeli companies.

Campaigners believe that boycott is the most effective way to confront Israel and its supporters after the UN Security Council and world powers failed to stop the massacre of Gazans despite worldwide protests.

Saudi business regulations do not allow any company to import Israeli products or reach any business dealings or agreements with companies or organizations in the Zionist state.

The regulations also call for the boycott of products that include parts produced in Israel.

Badr Almotawa, a business analyst, called for boycotting Israeli products and supporters in the US and Britain.

“We boycott their products to send a message that they would lose our business if they support Israel to kill the Palestinians,” he told Arab News.

He said many people in the Kingdom have decided to boycott products of pro-Israeli companies. “This is essential. The Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have advised people in their member countries to boycott Israeli products,” he pointed out.

Almotawa said Israel had rejected the peace plan presented by the Arab League in 2002, adding that it was originally proposed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah when he was the crown prince.

He highlighted the impact of the decision taken by King Abdullah to boycott Dutch companies when a right-wing politician in the Netherlands abused Islam and the Saudi flag. “That boycott is still holding. Saudi Arabia has refused to meet with the Dutch foreign minister on the issue.”

Hugh Lanning, chair of the London-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign, recently told The International Business Times that he saw signs that the boycott campaign was becoming mainstream.

“We get the feeling that people are anxious. Individuals who have been outraged by what they’ve seen want ways in which they can individually protest. Boycott actions are being seen as a way the average person in the street can say: ‘out with that’,” he said.

Starbucks, the Seattle-based coffee chain, felt so much boycott pressure building that it felt compelled to respond over the weekend. The company’s founder and chairman, Howard Schultz, denied reports that he was donating money to the Israel Army.

Some companies that do business with Israel have launched a counter campaign by reducing the prices of their products to woo consumers in the Kingdom.

“I have noticed some popular American brands offering big discounts. This shows they are feeling the pinch,” said Muhsinah, an Indian resident.

“I have decided to boycott Nan baby milk and purchase other brands for my baby,” she told Arab News. She said boycott Israel campaigners have published a list of alternative products for people to buy. “We have to boycott pro-Israeli goods at any cost. This is what we can do.”

In the south Indian state of Kerala, a number of organizations have taken a joint decision to boycott products of Israel and its supporters. In Mumbai, Indian newspaper “The Hindu” reported in late July that over 1,000 hotels in the city had joined a boycott of Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other products.

The Turkish daily Zaman reported that Istanbul and a host of small towns have been urging residents not to buy products made in Israel or that have links to Israel, such as Coca-Cola, in a campaign that began on social media. Malaysians, meanwhile, have mounted a campaign against McDonald’s, accusing it of supporting Israel’s war effort.

 
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