Rindi Salsabilla Putri, CNBC Indonesia
Lifestyle
Friday, 17/11/2023 20:50 WIB
Photo: Police officers stand guard in front of a McDonalds outlet which was temporarily closed due to overflowing queues during BTS Meal sales at Gambir Station, Jakarta, Thursday (10/6/2021).
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Currently, more and more Indonesians are participating in boycotting a number of companies or brands that originate from and/or support Israel.
McDonald’s and Starbucks are one of the two companies targeted by the Indonesian public for their alleged support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Palestine.
It is known that Indonesian people who support Palestine agreed to start boycotting McDonald’s after McDonald’s Israel provided free food to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Meanwhile, Starbucks was also the target of a boycott after the largest coffee shop company founded in the United States (US) sued the labor union, Starbucks Workers United, which expressed solidarity with Palestinians.
This boycott action also attracted the attention of foreign media, Al Jazeera. Through an article entitled “Indonesians boycott McDonald’s, Starbucks over support for Israel” which was published on November 14 2023, the Qatari media highlighted McDonald’s and Starbucks in Medan, North Sumatra which were empty of visitors.
“Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, has long been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and does not have an Israeli embassy,” wrote Al Jazeera, quoted Friday (17/11/2023).
In this article, Al Jazeera interviewed the operational manager of the Medan branch of the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C), Ade Andrian, who also boycotted McDonald’s, even though he had previously visited this fast food restaurant from the US quite often.
“My favorite order is the Family Meal. When I order via drive thru, I always order ice cream,” said Ade to Al Jazeera.
“However, I have never been to McDonald’s again since we found out that McDonald’s Israel was providing aid and discounts to the Israeli military,” said Ade.
Through its report, Al Jazeera stated that it had contacted McDonald’s Indonesia. Through its statement, McDonald’s Indonesia stated that it upholds human values.
McDonald’s Indonesia told Al Jazeera in a statement that it was “unwaveringly committed to upholding humanitarian values and wants to take an active role in aid efforts in Gaza,” Al Jazeera reported.
Apart from that, Al Jazeera also reported that Starbucks at Focal Point Mall was observed to be empty of visitors in the last few weeks.
“We noticed that things are currently much less busy than usual, although we can’t say for sure why this is,” said one of the baristas who did not want to be identified.
“It could be due to various factors, such as we are not holding any promotions at the moment. We don’t know, but no customers have asked us about the boycott,” he continued.
Al Jazeera Highlights MUI Issues Haram Fatwa
In the same article, Al Jazeera also highlighted the attitude of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) which issued a haram fatwa for “direct or indirect support for Israeli aggression against Palestinians or parties who support Israel”.
Apart from that, Al Jazeera also reported on the peaceful demonstration to defend Palestine by tens of thousands of Indonesians at Monas, Central Jakarta.
“Tens of thousands of Indonesian citizens, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, and presidential candidate, Anies Baswedan, gathered at Monas, Jakarta to express solidarity with Palestine and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” wrote Al Jazeera.
“Due to security concerns, several McDonald’s and Starbucks branches near the monument were closed on the day of the demonstration,” the report continued.
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2023-11-17 13:50:26
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