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Israeli incursions prompt new
calls for boycotts
As
the Arab-Israeli conflict entered a dangerous new phase last month,
angry demonstrations erupted in almost every Arab capital, in protest
against Israeli depredations in the Palestinian territories and the
perceived US bias towards Israel. While most Arab governments urged
the United States to exert pressure on Israel to withdraw, American bête
noire Iraq called for the deployment of the Arab ace-in-the-hole: the
oil weapon.
In
Egypt, an estimated 80,000 people around the country – mostly
university students and members of professional syndicates –
protested on March 31 and April 1. Smaller demonstrations were carried
out in subsequent days, despite the government’s announcement on
April 4 that it was severing all contacts with Israel except for
“diplomatic contacts that might help the Palestinian cause.”
At
Cairo University, according to the Cairo Times of April 4, the
protests resulted in “the most violent confrontation with security
forces in 18 months, if not since the Gulf War,” as government
troops broke up the crowd with tear gas and water cannons.
Popular
wrath was aimed not only at Israel and its policies. America – in
its capacity as Israel’s number one ally – was also targeted,
first with slogans, then with bricks, which sailed through the windows
of two nearby fast-food restaurants, McDonald’s and KFC, both
conspicuous symbols of US consumerism.
Even
Ahmed Donia, deputy manager for Americana Foods, which owns the KFC
near the university, seemed to concede that the protesters had a
point. “If the US said ‘stop’ to the Israelis, this crisis in
the territories would stop immediately,” he admitted. “The
Egyptian people are angry and trying to send a message because the US
is the only power that can stop Israel – the only one.”
Nevertheless,
he added, KFC’s local franchise is built on Egyptian investment,
Egyptian labor and Egyptian raw materials, and, as such, is an
entirely Egyptian enterprise. “KFC is only an American brand.
Everything else is Egyptian,” he said. According to Donia, more than
75,000 Egyptians are employed in foreign brand-name franchises in
Egypt, so launching a boycott – or vandalizing local outlets –
ends up only hurting Egypt’s economy.
Emad
Adeeb, publisher of financial daily Al Alam Al Youm, opined in his
newspaper’s April 18 edition that “boycotting American goods will
send an important message, but it will hurt more on the local side
rather than having any effect internationally... [since] American
goods come by the way of franchises, and these have Egyptian workers
and Egyptian managers.”
Caroline
Greiss, marketing manager of McDonald’s Egypt, described the
vandalism as “senseless acts of violence,” adding that she
didn’t know why the students attacked the restaurant.
“McDonald’s is not involved in any political issue. There is no
reason to target us,” she said. “We are a family restaurant and
part of the community.”
Contrary
to demonstrators’ claims that they were speaking for all Egyptians,
concern about the trashing of the restaurants was not limited to
franchise managers and the business elite. “If people have
complaints, they shouldn’t attack Egyptian businesses, because that
puts people out of work,” said Zein Abdin, a mechanic from Sayeda
Zeinab, in specific reference to the assaults on the franchises.
“Are the people who smashed those places going to compensate the
workers who now have to look for other ways to get money? I don’t
think so.”
The
Internet has been rife with calls by the pro-Palestine camp to boycott
both Israeli and American products.
Meanwhile,
pro-boycott sentiments have been echoed to a large degree within
Egypt’s business community. “The Cairo Chamber of Commerce has
decided to stop all types of trade with Israel and America. Israeli
and American goods have no place in the commerce of Egypt,” said
Chamber president Mahmoud Al Araby, according to the April 17 edition
of leftist weekly Al Ahaali. “If it was permitted for us – as
merchants – to go to war for Palestine, we would go,” he was
quoted as saying.
On
April 2, the broader-based Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Commerce
(EFCC), which represents 3.5 million Egyptian traders, announced that
all the chambers affiliated with it around the country would sever
trade relations with Israel. “The membership of importers who deal
with Israel will be deleted immediately from the general assembly of
the association until a fair settlement is reached in the region,”
Moustafa Zaki, head of the EFCC’s Importers’ Association, warned.
The
Syndicate of Pharmacists, too, joined the fray, calling on local
pharmaceutical companies to limit the import of any American drugs
that have local equivalents or can be imported from other countries,
as well as to withdraw their money from American banks in Egypt and
transfer it into local banks. “A couple of Egyptian firms started
this campaign and transferred their money into local banks,”
explained Mohamed (surname withheld), owner of a pharmacy and a member
of the Pharmacists’ Syndicate. “I expect several firms to
follow,” he added, “but it will take some time, since it is not
easy for big companies to withdraw millions of pounds in short periods
of time.”
Zaki of the EFCC, however, disagreed with
such measures. “First, some Egyptian banks have stakes in American
banks, so we are not only harming American interests, but our own
interests as well,” he said. “Second, boycotting medicine is a very
dangerous tool that might affect the lives of millions of patients.”
He
did not comment directly on what should be done about US-brand
restaurant franchises owned by Egyptians.
While
Zaki was sympathetic to the protestors, he added that “we have to
take into consideration Egypt is the second largest aid recipient
after Israel. If Arab trade with the US was negatively affected, this
would harm the United States minimally.” He added, however, that a
general boycott of US goods “will undoubtedly send an important
message.”
Friday
prayers at the Al-Azhar mosque, meanwhile, have been the scene of
weekly demonstrations by a few hundred protesters, always accompanied
by a gaggle of journalists. During US Secretary of State Colin
Powell’s stop in Egypt on April 9, a violent demonstration at
Alexandria University resulted in the death of at least one student
when police fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
EMAN
WAHBY
WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TARIQ HASSAN-GORDON
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