Israel-Palestine War Prompts Boycotts
November 10, 2023 Dua Khan | Staff Writer
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Around the world, McDonald’s, Starbucks, and the Walt Disney Company are getting boycotted by Palestinian supporters after providing aid to Israel, or supporting Israel in general when the Hamas attack happened on October 7th, 2023.
When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, McDonald's began giving free meals to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) - offering discounts to soldiers, and has so far given out approximately 100,000 free meals to Israel. After several social media posts, many Palestinian supporters began to boycott McDonald's for its support of Israel. Palestinian supporters have also been protesting and propagating the concept of boycotting McDonald's, which has resulted in images on the right. Now, many McDonald's owners are suffering because of the boycott going on.
Following their social media remarks, Starbucks chose to sue the Starbucks Workers United Union on October 18, 2023. This was particularly evident following the Hamas attack, when the United Workers Union reposted a photo of a bulldozer dismantling a fence along the Israel-Gaza border with the words "Solidarity with Palestine." According to Vice, it states, “Furthermore, the Starbucks Workers United is accused of trademark, copyright, and contributory infringement, fraudulent affiliation with the company and trademark dilution, according to Starbucks' lawsuit.”
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Starbucks Workers United’s lawsuit alleges defamation, and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Workers United's lawsuit also seeks a declaratory judgment allowing it to continue using the Starbucks brand and emblem. According to Vice, it said, “It lists a number of other unions that use their firm's name, such the Amazon Labor Union, a union of Amazon employees, and Medieval Times Performers United, a union of Medieval Times employees that recently had a company trademark infringement complaint against it dismissed.”
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Many people are boycotting Starbucks as a result of the company suing its own union, and their stock is also going down, where they are starting to drop the prices of tickets and other things.
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Following the Hamas attack on Israel, The Walt Disney Company offered $2 million USD in humanitarian aid to Israel. According to Variety, it states, “Disney is donating $1 million to the Red Cross Red Crescent movement which has emergency aid in Israel, like blood banking and other things. Disney is also sending $1 million to other organizations which helps other people, especially kids.” According to Disney, they said, “In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks targeting Jews in Israel this past weekend, we must all do what we can to support the innocent people experiencing so much pain, violence, and uncertainty — particularly children,” said Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “We condemn these attacks, the hate that motivated them, and all acts of terrorism, and we will continue working to find more ways to provide support in the region, and to honor the victims, their families, and all those affected by this war.” When many Palestinian supporters heard and learned of this, they began to boycott Disney because of its support for Israel. The Palestine supporters are also starting to spread awareness throughout the media and encouraging people to help boycott Disney.
If you want to learn more about the Israel-Palestine conflict or read more intriguing stories, make sure you follow The Expedition.
Opinion: What's happening in Gaza is a genocide, and we can help stop it
Israel bombs Gaza (via Agence France-Presse)
November 10, 2023 Noor Abbas | Staff Writer
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On October 7th, 2023, a Palestinian militant group called Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, leading to a lot of controversy throughout the world. Was this an act of self-defense or terrorism? There is more to the story than just the events of Oct. 7th.
The conflict in Palestine is a mass genocide and Westlake students have a role to help stop it.
The day that Hamas attacked Israel was an eye-opener to the world. Many people say that this was the start of the war. There is more to see than meets the eye. The Israel-Palestine war hasn’t just started, it has been going on for well over 75 years. In 1948 the Nakba took place. This is where Israel invaded Palestine and kicked out 700,000 Palestinians from their homes to make up some of what Israel is today. Since then, there has been a fight over who “owns” the land.
Israel said that they have the right to take over the land as they said it was “made for them.” Well, that land was originally Palestine’s. Israel kind of just came in and took it over.
After the Holocaust, the Jews were seeking refuge in fear of persecution and fled to Palestine. The United Nations had approved a plan to split up Palestine into a Jewish and Arab State, but the Arabs had not agreed to the plan. In May of 1948, Israel declared their independence, despite living on Palestinian land, which started the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Over the years since Israel invaded Palestine, they have been trying to occupy all the land, even that of which the Palestininans are residing in now. Over the years, Israel has been carpet bombing, invading homes, the usage of white phosphorus [a chemical substance banned by the Geneva Convention], killing innocent people and children and more in the Gaza Strip [and the West Bank].
They have already had enough of this. So on October 7th, Hamas bombed Israel in response to the crimes they have been facing for over the past 75 years. Now think of it like this, if someone had punched you, would you punch back?
Or take the Russia and Ukraine war for example. Russia invaded Ukraine because Vladimir Putin wanted the land back from the time when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine has launched over 100 attacks on Russia, and used airstrikes to attack Russian military forces.
So why are we calling the acts of Hamas terrorism? What are they getting criticized for? Defending themselves and their people?
Katie Ellis, a 9th grade student at Westlake Charter High School (WCHS) stated, “we are with the people of Palestine and even though the president [Joe Biden] does not support them. There are a lot of people in the U.S. that still support them [Palestine] and want them to stay alive and succeed in life and live. We all have families just like they do, and I hope they get through this.”
There were 1,400 deaths in the attack that Hamas set in motion. Now following the attacks, Israel has cut off Gaza’s access to water, food, electricity, phone services, and internet access which is a war crime. During the electricity and internet black out, Gaza was heavily bombed.
Gazan children speak out against Israel's bombing attacks (via Instagram)
Since then, Israel has instigated a heavy amount of air strikes, bombs, and more. The bombs have created mass destruction all throughout the Gaza Strip. There are bodies of women, children, and men everywhere. There are still bodies and people buried under the rubble of their homes. There are so many people suffering and enduring Israel’s bombardment. They have also committed war crimes against Gaza. They bombed and are continuing to bomb hospitals where many seek refuge in and get treatment for their medical conditions due to the continuous bombing.
After bombing a hospital in Gaza, Israel had blamed it on a Palestinian missile misfire. Now there are more than 10,000 Palestinians dead, but millions more including all the years of occupation in Gaza.
This is not a war, this is a genocide, and our President Joe Biden is funding this by sending Israel billions of dollars, and more bombs to drop on Gaza.
Natalie Martinez, a WCHS student who was interviewed by The Expedition pointed out that, “We all bleed red don’t we? So why do you [Israeli government] not care about how much blood has been spilled on the side of the Palestinians?”
Although there have been a lot of bombs going off in Gaza, the Israeli Ground Occupation started invading into Gaza as well, killing innocent children who were throwing rocks at them. There is so much more occupation going on in Gaza. Please help stop the genocide in Gaza by joining boycotts of popular companies that fund the Israeli Occupation.
Boycotting in support of Palestine: companies to avoid and alternatives
Posters protesting McDonalds for its support of Israel (via Arab News)
November 10, 2023 Gisele Gonzalez | Staff Writer
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Right now, you may have seen all of the discounts and deals from companies and food chains. You may wonder why they are giving out all these discounts when they usually don’t. This is because hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are boycotting these companies for them to stop supporting the Israeli army.
Many of these companies are helping and won't let other people support Palestine according to Vox.com. There are also a lot of companies in the U.S. that are currently supporting or giving money to Israel. You can help stop these chains by boycotting too. Many food chains and companies in the U.S. are supporting Israel but you can begin by boycotting three main companies that are supporting Israel.
Starbucks is supporting Israel. According to Bloomberg Law News, Starbucks sued its union for posts supporting Palestine.. If you would like to join the boycott, there are some other places you can go to get your coffee. You can go to Krispy Kreme, Dutch Bros. or some local coffee shops in your area.
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It’s not just McDonald’s who supports Israel, but Burger King, Subway and Wendy’s also support Israel, according to Vox.com. McDonald’s is supporting Israelis by donating thousands of free meals to the Israeli army, according to Vox.com and Mcdonald’s Israel Instagram. You can prevent them from supporting Israel by boycotting McDonald’s or these popular food chains so they won’t have enough money to support the Israeli army. Some alternatives you can go to so you can stop going to McDonald’s are Taco Bell, Shake Shack, Raising Canes and WingStop.
Disney is also one of the main companies supporting Israel. According to the Walt Disney Company, they are pledging $2 million for food and water supplies to the Israeli army. Because Disney is a big company, there is a lot you can boycott. Instead of watching Disney+, you can watch Netflix. You can also avoid buying from brands or items that are owned by Disney.
Rasheed Shepherd, a WCHS student states, “At the end of the day, we are all just people who want to live and do what we think is right. I don't think anyone should be ridiculed or harassed for what they think is right.”Don't harass, mock or taunt people boycotting for supporting a side they want to choose.
Emma Fifita, a WCHS sophomore says, “We aren’t free until Palestine is free. So please help boycott these companies who are one sided supporting Israel.” What is currently happening to Palestine is one sided and unfair. Boycotting will help these companies stop supporting Israel.
The boycott is already happening and there have been a lot of results. That is why you see a lot of discounts and deals such as a buy one get one free offer. This shows a lot of progress because these companies are trying to lure you back in to get food, but it would lead to supporting Israel. Even Disney made their tickets only $50. Please help Gaza and stop supporting Israel from harming innocent families.
If you would like to read more interesting news or stories, make sure to check out The Expedition.