In a large store in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, a boy no older than six stood next to his father in front of a shelf of fried potato chip products and said, "No, Dad, this is boycotted!… I will choose another kind."
This young boy's resolve is far from unique among individuals in Arab and Islamic countries. Kowthar Adawnisar, a 19-year-old university student, has decided to boycott her favorite fast-food restaurants upon learning that particular brands supported Israeli soldiers during their war on the Gaza Strip. She now prefers local alternatives.
In solidarity with the Palestinian Arab people's struggle for freedom and rights, we urge our Arab brethren to raise their voices against normalization in all its forms with the Israeli enemy and to escalate the boycott and divestment from companies complicit in the crimes of the Israeli colonial, occupation, and apartheid regime.
Egypt.. Support for Alternative Products
In Egypt, Al Jazeera Net observed the launch of websites by activists for inquiries about boycotted products, clarifying the reasons to raise consumer awareness and counteract opposing campaigns. Meanwhile, activists continue to showcase alternative products to those under boycott.
Market regulatory bodies in the Arab countries have not released data on the scale of the boycott. However, Reuters cites an unnamed source in McDonald's Egypt management, stating that the franchise's sales plummeted by at least 70% in October and November compared to the same period last year.
Sameh El Sadat, an Egyptian politician and co-founder of TBS Holdings, a supplier for Starbucks and McDonald's, noticed a roughly 50% decrease or slow down in orders from both clients in Egypt, the most populous Arab country (105.8 million inhabitants).
Nationality Sometimes Suffices
The boycott has extended to all products of supporting companies, whether it be soft drinks, food items, or various fast-food chains, coffee shops, clothing brands, or famous retail chains in major shopping centers. Often, the mere nationality of the company was reason enough for a boycott, even if it did not publicly express solidarity with the Israeli military.
Despite some fast-food franchise agents being compelled to post signs on restaurant doors proclaiming support for Gazans, they have struggled to counteract the impact of continuous calls for boycott across social media platforms.
Other companies are now offering substantial discounts to maintain their product placement in stores, but local goods—despite sometimes reduced quality, according to a grocer's account to Al Jazeera Net—are in high demand.
Boycotting is the least form of resistance, a denial of wrongdoing through avoidance, a symbolic participation with the oppressed, and a message of reprimand to the oppressor. We have seen its effective impact on companies that support the brutal occupation. With the ongoing war on Gaza, we must boycott all who support this Nazi-style war that is backed by America and its allies.
These are the most prominent effects of the boycott calls:
- A significant decrease in patronage of foreign companies' products and branches.
- Some personnel and workers are being laid off from these companies.
- The quest for alternatives and the popularity of relatively cheaper local products.
Regarding the impact of the boycott on foreign company branches in Egypt, financial market expert Wael El Nahhas states that there is a clear decline in interest and sales. However, the extent of the losses cannot be determined until the company announces its quarterly or annual business results.
El Nahhas emphasizes that the results of company operations and stock prices should be distinguished: what’s been traded is a decline in stock prices of some companies in global markets, not their actual profits or losses, due to expectations of a profit drop.
He further describes the boycott as a "double-edged sword," conveying a strong message to foreign companies backing Israel. At the same time, it incurs losses for local agents and workers. El Nahhas adds that while local companies might benefit temporarily from the boycott, they could incur losses if they decide to expand and then consumers revert to their favorite products, including those previously boycotted.
On employee layoffs, social media activists state that the workforce of boycotted brands will find alternative employment opportunities with local companies gaining popularity due to the boycott.
Sales of the Egyptian franchise for McDonald's have significantly dropped in Egypt (Al Jazeera).
Morocco.. A Successful Boycott Campaign
In Morocco, Al Jazeera Net noted a decline in patronage of the targeted brands compared to the situation approximately two months before the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip. This prompted global brand branches to deny supporting Israel and launch tempting offers to attract customers.
A famous restaurant chain within the boycott's scope took to its social media pages in November to declare through its workers, "We heard you, understood you, and we want to clarify for you. We, like you, are pained by what is happening to civilians in Gaza. Our brand is global, but we are a 100% Moroccan company that rents the name, and the rental fee for the brand name does not go to any government or political entity, God willing."
According to Sion Assidon, coordinator of the global boycott movement BDS in Morocco, Moroccan citizens engaged in the popular boycott of goods from companies supporting the occupation army as an affirmation that they are not involved in normalization with Israel.
Assidon cites the response from representatives of boycotted brands, offering discounts and defending themselves, as evidence of the boycott's effectiveness. He expects results to emerge in the coming months.
Economic experts also agree with Assidon, telling Al Jazeera Net that it's challenging to track the economic impact of the boycott on these companies due to the absence of official figures from them or Moroccan economic bodies.
Saadia Waloo, a member of BDS, tells Al Jazeera Net that the movement distributed pamphlets to cease dealings with occupation-supporting brands and organized demonstrations outside their stores.
Aziz Hanawi, General Secretary of the Moroccan National Observatory to Combat Normalization, says the transformation of the boycott into a lifestyle depends on the degree of individual awareness.
He adds that Moroccans engage more in the boycott as battles intensify and "Zionist crimes escalate," as he calls it. He notes the boycott will continue with those who have accumulated awareness of the Palestinian cause, even after the war ends.
The boycott has led several Western brands to reduce their production (Al Jazeera).
Jordan.. Intensive Campaigns
In Jordan, activists on social media launched a campaign named "Istihi" (Have Shame) to boycott Israeli and American goods in the Jordanian markets. The campaign involved protest stands in front of stores selling Israeli-supporting products and distributing stickers in public markets to encourage Jordanians to make the boycott a pervasive cultural norm.
Boycott campaigns forced several American and Western brands to reduce production and cut working hours, with signs indicating some branches might close entirely, according to observers.
The Jordanian Labor Observatory report, reviewed by Al Jazeera Net, indicates that the boycotts targeted American and French fast-food chains and companies from other nations supporting Israeli aggression, varying from soft drinks to cosmetics, electronics, and sportswear. Sales of these companies dropped by up to 95%.
Like its counterparts in Morocco and Egypt, local brands running under global trademarks strove to emphasize their local identity. Yet, they were not immune from the boycott.
The latest opinion poll by the Jordan University's Center for Strategic Studies shows that 93% of Jordanians were committed to boycotting Israeli and American products, with 95% of them turning to locally manufactured alternatives.
American retail stores without customers in Jordan (Al Jazeera).
The Local Alternative
Badi Al-Rafaya, former chairman of the Anti-Normalization Committee, tells Al Jazeera Net that the atrocity of the occupation's crimes in Gaza spurred many Jordanians to boycott products supporting Israel and to opt for national alternatives.
Stickers calling for the boycott, accompanied by images of crimes committed by the occupation in Gaza, have widely spread in public streets.
Moussa Saket, member of the Jordan Chamber of Industry, confirms that the boycott of American and Western goods continues, while there is a noticeable increase in demand for local enterprise products. He points out that readily available local alternatives are key to the success of the boycott against American and Western products. The proliferation of domestic carbonated beverage companies, for instance, offers a substitute for American ones, further encouraging the continuation of boycott campaigns even after the cessation of Israeli aggression on Gaza, thereby supporting local products.
Kuwait.. Heightened Awareness of the Importance of Boycott
In Kuwait, many families are conscious about avoiding products from companies that support the occupation, opting instead for local market alternatives. This has affected the sales figures of these brands significantly.
Al Jazeera Net observed consumers and restaurant-goers avoiding boycotted products and verifying through their cell phones whether certain products are on the boycott list.
Mishari Ibrahim, in charge of the BDS movement in Kuwait, informs Al Jazeera Net that awareness of the necessity to boycott companies backing the occupation state is surging. The movement's current efforts include urging the Cooperative Societies Union, the largest local Kuwaiti market, to exclude products from companies supporting Israel.
He shares that discussions are also ongoing with members of Kuwait's National Assembly (parliament) on proposing a law specifically targeting companies supporting the occupation, beyond what the existing law mandating the boycott of Zionist products entails.
BDS annually publishes a list of 10 companies to be boycotted for supporting the occupation, replaced with a new list each subsequent year.
Fahd Al-Arbash, President of the Kuwaiti Union of Cafés, Restaurants and Food Catering, notes that boycott calls have found significant resonance among youth and teenagers, who form the majority audience for some international restaurant and café chains subject to boycott for supporting the occupation.
He claims that one fast-food chain previously held a 28-30% market share for "burger" products in Kuwait, with sales amounting to approximately 13 million Kuwaiti dinars (42.26 million US dollars). However, a recent survey he contributed to demonstrated a 20-30% drop in the same product at this company, with the market share transferring to non-supportive competitors.
He also mentions that the boycott has impacted a famous international grocery and electronics chain, causing a nearly 40% decline in sales despite recently announced discounts that reached up to 50% on certain products. He anticipates these losses could lead to the company exiting the Kuwaiti market.
Some domestic products have experienced significant sales growth. A Gulf-produced carbonated water brand went from distributing around 5 to 6 trucks monthly before the war, to currently around 11 to 12 trucks daily in the Kuwaiti market. According to Al-Arbash, the presence of a successful alternative reduces the likelihood that companies affected by the boycott will regain their lost customer base.
