Webster’s Dictionary defines genocide as “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.” It’s almost hard to believe that even today in 2023, and 2024 in less than a month, genocide is a problem in the world. As of December, there have been more than 19,453 people killed in Palestine from the war with Israel. These people include women, children, the disabled, and the elderly along with the soldiers actively fighting by the way.
The conflict escalated when Hamas was attacked, prompting Israel to declare war. Since then 70% of the people that have lost their lives from the fighting have been civilians. The majority of the families living in Gaza have been displaced from their homes and are now on the streets in the middle of a war. Half of the people in Gaza are slowly starving to death. The estimated number is 2.3 million.
Despite this, many major companies are supporting Israel and the war by funding their efforts. Many people disagree with them; however, they see the numbers of people suffering and hope for the war to end soon, even with a cease-fire. A handful of these people are participating in a boycott against companies supporting Israel and their efforts in the war.
I personally disagree with Israel’s efforts and stand with Palestine. Because of this, I’ve been participating in the boycott for about a month. I can’t spend any money on a product from a company that I know is supporting Israel. It’s honestly been very surprising how many large companies stand with Israel, from Starbucks and McDonald’s to Amazon.
It has for sure been a struggle going without some products that I’m used to having every day, like Monsters, which I haven’t bought since I found out, going from drinking at least one a day to drinking Rockstars instead.
I’ve had moments where I had to stop in the middle of the grocery store and check the list of companies being boycotted to make sure I wasn’t about to buy something on it. Other people in my life who are also participating have told me about their struggles too, how they couldn’t just run out and get some cheap Pizza Hut for dinner and instead had to get a more expensive restaurant.
I have also had a hard time explaining to people in my life why I refused to go to certain places for food and drinks when they disagree with my choice; I respect that even though I don’t agree with them. The whole explanation has honestly gotten a bit tiring, especially when people who ask have no idea about what is going on in Palestine and Israel.
The boycotts are affecting the companies. McDonalds, Starbucks, and Dominoes have all reported that their sales have noticeably gone down since it began. McDonalds specifically has lost more than 1 million because of the boycott according to Newsweek. The boycott can be hard to do at first, but others who would like to show their support for Palestine in this way can find a link to a list of companies and products to avoid as a consumer at the link below.

https://www.mayniaga.com/companies-supporting-israel/