To boycott or not to boycott

Youssef Sidhom

Ever since the Gaza war broke out on 7 October 2023 following the attack by Hamas against Israel, and the vengeful retaliatory war by Israel against Palestinian civilians, calls gained ground worldwide for peaceful resistance against the diabolical Israeli war which contravened humanitarian ethics and international law. Calls to boycott Israeli brands and international brands that support Israel through direct funding or through percentages of profits transferred to Israel, were launched in Egypt, and were met with wide approbation by Egyptians who deeply empathised with the Palestinian people. The positive response reflected the Egyptian public’s awareness of the political, diplomatic and military intricacies that prescribe an official cautious, shrewd response by the Egyptian leadership, ruling out a formal boycott, for the sake of preserving Egypt’s national security. Egyptians sensed that the responsibility of penalising Israel falls on the Egyptian street itself through “passive resistance”.

The first targets for the boycott calls against Israel involved boycotting a large collection of famous consumer brands, including international food and beverage chains for supporting and assisting Israel. Opposing voices arose claiming that the boycott in fact hits Egyptianowned companies that employ thousands of Egyptian staff and workers; these companies hold franchises from international chains, binding them to pay small percentages of their profits to the mother companies. This being the fact, the argument went, the damage resulting from the boycott would hit Egyptian investments and hundreds of thousands of Egyptian employees who would be forced into unemployment if the boycott persists.

The momentum of the boycott calls persisted, gaining significant support from the Egyptian public, as flagrantly revealed on social media. It showed strong patriotic sense among Egyptians, and a growing aversion to buying and consuming products the revenue of which supports Israel. Most opinion writers who wrote about the matter appeared to support the boycott; they analysed the pros and cons of the boycott and concluded that the pros outweighed the cons, affording strong justification for boycott. Let me here present excerpts of what columnist Mohamed Salmawy wrote in the daily State owned Al-Ahram during last October and November, because it holds valid viewpoints that warrant consideration.

Mr Salmawy wrote: “I am boycotting because battles are not waged with guns alone, but also with money, support and endorsement in the media and political forums. Israel does not live only on its income but also on the aid it receives from governments and from private donations and major companies.” Mr Salmawy mentioned a large group of companies and brands that support Israel and have in Egypt branches that carry their brands and promote their products. “If the branches of those companies operating in Egypt are owned by Egyptian capital,” Mr Salmawy wrote, “why do they not donate to stop the shedding of Palestinian blood, and to support them with various types of humanitarian aid and relief?”

Egyptians have proved that they are more mature, more loyal, and more responsible than those who oppose the boycott calls, Mr Salmawy wrote. “They continue to boycott products of companies and brands that support Israel, as the boycott opponents make their outdated argument that this boycott is directed against Egyptian goods made in Egypt by Egyptian hands,” he wrote stressing that they fall into a major error. “In exchange for carrying foreign trademarks, these companies are committed to transferring a percentage of their profits to the parent companies abroad, and this contributes to the donations and support that the parent companies provide to Israel. Their claim that the boycott would be detrimental to Egyptians working in these companies is refuted by the fact that opportunities are available, and the doors are open to move to the Egyptian product and to encourage the national industry to accommodate these employees,” Mr Salmawy wrote. In this context let me point out that the quality of Syrian products now on the market is as good as Egyptian products, and are very much welcomed by Egyptian consumers.

According to Mr Salmawy, in Egypt we are not the first to undertake boycotting Israel and the companies that support it; since 2005 an organised movement in the US and Europe has been calling for boycotting Israeli products and services in the economic, sports, cultural, and academic fields, as well the international companies that conspire with Israel in usurping Palestinian rights and committing war crimes against humanity and the Palestinian people for 70 years. “This is one sort of the international boycott that warrants recording,” Mr Salmawy wrote.

In this context, we must recall the companies that manufacture cars and engineering equipment while they endorse Israel, Mr Salmawy wrote, pointing out that these companies promote their products to the Egyptian market. He also mentioned some foreign banks which own shares in Israeli factories that produce weapons used in the bloody military operations against Palestinians. “It is not right to keep dealing with these companies within the Egyptian market, simply because we are unaware of the role that they very consciously play,” Mr Salmawy wrote.

I have one final remark that I wish to add to Mr Salmawy’s opinion. In order for the boycott calls to bear fruit and not to stumble before the saying that the Egyptian product falls short of matching the specifications of its foreign counterpart, particularly in pharmaceutical and medical fields, Egyptian industry is required to provide a good local alternative in order to encourage Egyptian consumers to resort to the Egyptian substitute and go along with the boycott.

I am very proud of the response of Egyptians to the calls to boycott Israel and all that support it, and I am very happy with the teamwork rallying towards a patriotic target that these calls have created. The momentum gained on the Egyptian street by the boycott calls must be capitalised on in a different but very important aspect. Why don’t we redirect this momentum for a public boycott to combat the spiralling prices on the Egyptian market? This is a very urgent issue which I intend to tackle in an upcoming editorial.