For Haya Issa, an American expat with Palestinian-Jordanian roots, and her four children, their weekend routine has been similar for many years — head to the local drive-through fast-food joint for a milkshake and burger. However, for the last couple of weekends, this has changed. “We are boycotting brands that are openly supportive of the genocide in Gaza,” she said. “And many of our favourite fast-food, sodas and coffee brands are on this list. So we have changed our routine and habits quite a lot.”
Haya is one of the many UAE residents who have joined the global movement to boycott brands that have either taken pro-Israeli stances or have financial interests in the country.
Agencies have reported that several western brands have been hit by the boycotts sweeping across the world, especially in Arab countries. Seattle-based Starbucks Corporation has lost approximately $ 11 billion in value since the calls for a boycott began.
“We have been eating local and buying local,” said Haya. “I don’t think you need to be Palestinian to see the need to stay away from brands that actively support or condone the level of violence that Israel is unleashing in Gaza. I had been boycotting certain brands even before the October 7 incident, but now I can see that people worldwide are coming together to make their voices heard.”
Previous boycott campaigns in Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous nation, had less impact, including those advocated by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Believing in boycotting
Rhiannon Downie-Hurst is a big believer in boycotts and has done it in the past. “One of the best examples of boycott working is when women, in particular, boycotted sugar made by the hands of slaves, which played a part in the lead-up to the abolition of the slave trade,” she said. “Boycotting isn’t new to me; I’ve done it before and will continue to boycott where necessary.”
