Female college students are fueling boycotts of companies like McDonald’s and Starbucks over their positions in the Israel-Hamas war, according to a new poll conducted on behalf of Newsweek.
On October 7, Hamas militants launched an attack against Israel, resulting in over 1,000 Israeli casualties. Since the initial attack, Israel launched a ground invasion they say is intended to target Hamas leaders and force them to return more than 1000 Israelis being held hostage by the militant group. Critics, however, have raised concerns about the number of civilian deaths in Gaza. According to the Associated Press, more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, prompting protests and boycotts aimed at putting pressure on Israel to mitigate the number of civilian deaths.
Several companies that have expressed pro-Israel sentiments have found themselves subject to these boycotts. According to a new poll conducted by College Pulse on behalf of Newsweek, female college students are a key demographic fueling these boycotts.
The poll found that nearly 38 percent of female college students are boycotting McDonald’s over their connections with Israel, while 43 percent are boycotting Starbucks.
DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images
Meanwhile, 19 percent of male college students boycotted McDonald’s, while 27 percent boycotted Starbucks. Fifty-eight percent of non-binary college students were boycotting McDonald’s and 55 percent were boycotting Starbucks, according to the poll.
More than 50 percent of female college students said a company’s support of Israel will impact their decision to purchase their products. Thirty-two percent of men and nearly 70 percent of non-binary college students said their decisions to support a company are influenced by their stance on the conflict.
Only 15.6 percent of respondents said participating in these boycotts has been either very or somewhat challenging to participate in, while 54.5 percent said participation has been “not challenging at all.”
The poll was conducted among 853 undergraduate students currently enrolled in a four-year or two-year degree program on January 25. It has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
The boycott of McDonald’s began after Israeli franchises started offering free meals to Israeli Defense Force soldiers. CEO Chris Kempczinski has admitted McDonald’s locations, particularly in the Middle East, have experienced a “meaningful business impact due to the war.”
A spokesperson for McDonald’s wrote in a statement to Newsweek that the company is “dismayed by the disinformation and inaccurate reports regarding our position to the conflict in the Middle East.”
“McDonald’s Corporation is not funding or supporting any governments involved in this conflict, and any actions from our local Developmental Licensee business partners were made independently without McDonald’s consent or approval,” the statement reads.
Meanwhile, Starbucks has faced a boycott after the company sued its workers’ union for sharing a post in support of Palestinians.
A spokesperson for Starbucks declined to comment, pointing to a previous statement in which CEO Laxman Narasimhan addressed the boycotts.
“Many of our stores have experienced incidents of vandalism. We see protestors influenced by misrepresentation on social media of what we stand for. We have worked with local authorities to ensure our partners and customers are safe. Nothing is more important. Our stance is clear. We stand for humanity,” he wrote.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.