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In Malaysia, there is an ongoing (though not entirely successful) boycott campaign of McDonald's, on the grounds that McDonald's is a

first tier corporate partner to the cause of Zionism

and has provided

unrelenting support to further consolidate the existence of these illegal settlements and causing unabated oppression of the Palestinians. (Link)

What grounds are there for making such claims?

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    Please note that the claim at the web site you quote is more specific and has multiple parts: (1) McDonalds supports a particular US-based Jewish organization; (2) this organization has the support for Israel among its activities; (3) this means that McDonalds generally supports Israel or Zionism (which may not be the same thing); (4) it does so in a significant way. Which of these claims do you doubt? – P_S Aug 26 '14 at 08:32
  • @P_S why do you assume that kenny doubts one of those parts? Perhaps kenny didnt read those subparts of the claim and is only asking about the quotes.. –  Aug 26 '14 at 15:19
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    Is McDonald's a "first tier corporate partner to the cause of Zionism"? And, what grounds are there to make the claim that McDonald's gives "unrelenting support to further consolidate the existence of these illegal settlements and causing unabated oppression of the Palestinians"? –  Aug 27 '14 at 10:00

1 Answers1

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McDonald's Israel (distinct from McDonald's Corporate) supports Israel in the sense that it pays taxes and is a corporate citizen on the ground.

Beyond that, it has not taken actions that could be classified as "first tier corporate support to the cause of Zionism" (which is simply a classification for donors to a specific organisation anyhow).

For example, Israeli settlers (known for being staunch Zionists) boycotted McDonald's for not opening in West Bank settlements.

Israeli settlers are up in arms about McDonald’s refusal to build an outlet in the West Bank, calling to boycott the company’s entire operations in Israel. The chain cited a policy of “staying out of occupied territories” with other businesses joining in.

Additionally, Omri Padan (the owner and general manager of McDonald's Israel) is one of the founders of Peace Now, an Israeli organisation that openly questions the wisdom of settlement strategy.

As Padan told Haaretz in 1998:

McDonald’s-Israel has not nor will it open a branch in any Israeli settlement beyond the Green Line. Back when I was the general manager of Kitan Textiles, I told the board I would resign immediately if they moved to open a plant [in] the West Bank. I have the privilege of not needing to compromise on my principles

Further, McDonald's Israel has taken other business decisions that place it at odds with other issues important to Zionists, such as employing Jews on Saturdays, running non-Kosher outlets and more.

So it seems that the Malaysian boycott claims are tenuous at best, and appear to be based on understanding the language used by a community organisation to describe local corporate sponsors as a literal description of larger geopolitical involvement.

MMPA
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    "openly questions the wisdom of settlement strategy" - that's the understatement of the week! – user5341 Aug 28 '14 at 12:28
  • So your key point here is they had a policy of staying out of occupied territories? The rest of your points seem rather circumstantial. – Oddthinking Aug 30 '14 at 10:07