Companies like McDonalds and Starbucks Become another Front of the Israeli Conflict

As officers stood outside the Texas Capitol Thursday evening, waves of people flooded the area for rallies. One group was clad in black, white, green, and red — the colors of Palestine — and the other with white and blue, standing for Israel. While no violence broke out between the two groups, it was a clear demonstration of the increasing division around the world caused by the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group.

In Israel, a McDonalds has given away thousands of free meals to support Israel Defense Forces soldiers (IDF). They posted on Instagram, “[W]e donated 4,000 meals to hospitals and military units, we intend to donate thousands of meals every day to soldiers in the field and in drafting areas.” While it has received support and praise for its generosity, some have expressed their disapproval of McDonalds’ support for Israel and have called for people to boycott.

In America alone, there have been several marches celebrating Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Israel. Somewhat surprisingly, there are a significant number of voices openly supporting the terrorism taking place, including Black Lives Matter, various lawmakers, as well as progressive students across college campuses. However, a CNN poll revealed there is far more support for Israel than what may meet the eye.

Despite the large number of anti-Semitic protests, the poll reported 71% of Americans “harbor deep sympathy for Israelis,” with at least 50% indicating that they believe Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks is “fully justified.” Twenty percent see it as “partially justified,” and 21% are uncertain, with only 8% claiming it is “not justified at all.” The report also noted that 96% of Americans “express at least some sympathy” regarding the October 7 attacks.

Meanwhile, members of Starbucks Workers United, a worker-led labor union, expressed support of terror attacks on Israel on Instagram. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) shared on X, “Every American should condemn the atrocities that Iran-backed Hamas terrorists committed in Israel. Boycott Starbucks until its leadership strongly denounces and takes action against this horrific support of terrorism.” And the call to boycott is spreading. Starbucks has denounced the sentiments of the union, stating that they “do not represent the company’s views, positions or beliefs.”

As further example to the backlash pro-Hamas groups are receiving, according to Breitbart, BBC News is “under fire” for reporters who have “praise[d] Hamas terror attacks on Israel.” The British new network has a history of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel content, and now face criticism for their unwillingness to call Hamas terrorists. For instance, a recent BBC article titled “What is Hamas?” dodged the term “terrorist” by saying “Palestinian militant group.” BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson shared, “It’s simply not the BBC’s job to tell people who to support and who to condemn — who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.”

In response, groups across the U.S. and even the British government are standing up against BBC’s apparent anti-Semitism. Robert Jenrick, the United Kingdom Minister for Immigration, stated, “Let us be clear what the world has witnessed. These weren’t, as some in the media say, ‘militants’ or ‘fighters.’ They were terrorists. They were murderers.”

 As the Christian Post’s Michael Brown concluded, “At this moment in history, the first thing that must be done is for all of us to stand together, Muslim and Christian and Jew (and people of other religions and non-religions), Israeli and Palestinian alike, and say, ‘What Hamas did is outright, unjustifiable evil. Plain and simple. We denounce it.’”