the pro-Palestinian movement, BDS, in the spotlight, after its call to boycott McDonald’s

The call for a boycott has worked so well in Malaysia that the American fast food giant finds itself embroiled in mediation to try to put an end to it. The affair is publicized and it is a publicity stunt for this group of pro-Palestinian activists.

BDS stands for Boycott, Divestment and Sanction. This transnational movement has existed since 2005, it brings together the Malaysian branch and 170 other NGOs around the world, which coordinate their actions. This movement campaigns for an end to the colonization of Palestinian territories and the right of return for Palestinian refugees. This network explains that it is inspired by the anti-apartheid action embodied by Nelson Mandela in South Africa. But its opponents consider it an anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic movement.

A militant action which has been illustrated for nearly 20 years by very locally targeted actions. In Malaysia, these activists, well supported by the government, have won their cases several times in recent years. In 2020, they obtained the termination of the contract of the largest university in Malaysia with the sports equipment manufacturer Puma, then in 2021 the visa ban for the Israeli team before the Squash World Cup. And more recently, the ban on Israeli shipping company ships from docking in Malaysian ports. But the most resounding action began after the announcement, in October 2023, of the donation of 100,000 meals to the Israeli army by the local franchise of the McDonald’s restaurant chain. The American brand immediately became the target of a boycott around the world.

Movement activists thank McDonald’s for making them famous

McDonald’s is not the only company targeted, there is also KFC, Zara, Axa, and even Carrefour. But in Malaysia the McDonald’s boycott worked so well that attendance at its restaurants fell dramatically, its franchise had to carry out a wave of layoffs and ended up filing a defamation suit against BDS Malaysia. And this is how the small Malaysian branch of a rather confidential global pro-Palestinian movement finds itself in the spotlight. McDonald’s is seeking more than a million euros in compensation. Both parties initiated mediation. But BDS has already succeeded, the movement’s activists have even thanked the American firm for making them famous.

The American fast food chain is therefore suffering the full brunt of the consequences of the action of only one of its franchises: the Israeli franchise. No one else in the world has supported the Jewish state’s response, including its parent company in the United States. But McDonald’s is losing momentum in many countries, with 27% less turnover in the Middle East, for example. The boss of the firm also speaks of “significant losses” on the African continent and in South-East Asia where now everyone knows about the BDS movement.