McDonald's and Starbucks have seen their profits take a hit as a result of the ongoing Israeli genocide war in Gaza, with the companies pointing to boycotts over their perceived pro-Israel stances. Both companies have been perceived as supporting Israel in the current assault, although Starbucks has disputed this. McDonald's sparked outrage amongst pro-Palestinian activists last October when its Israel franchise announced it was giving free meals to Israeli soldiers in its branches in Israel. Starbucks faced a backlash after it sued Starbucks Workers United in a federal court in Iowa over a pro-Palestinian social media post from the union. On 9 October 2023, - Starbucks Workers United posted “Solidarity with Palestine!” on X, formerly known as Twitter. The company threatened legal action over the tweet - which was deleted soon after being posted - and implied in a statement that the union supported Hamas' October 7 operation. Although Starbucks has said it supports no side in this issue, the backlash over the incident has led many customers to perceive it as having a pro-Israel stance. Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan said that the company’s sales in both the US and the Middle East had been hit by boycotts.“I don’t drink Starbucks coffee, I boycott Starbucks and you all should too”
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 20, 2024
British-American actor Michael Malarkey threw a Starbucks coffee and refused to drink it urging the boycott of Starbucks due to its complicity in the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/ncOWbqpIcP
