As the conflict between Palestine and Israel continues there is a new topic that has emerged related to Israel-supporting versus Palestine-supporting companies. Companies that support Israel will either publicly come out in support of Israel or give money to Israel that is ultimately funding the genocide.
Some examples of companies supporting and giving money to the country of Israel are Google, Amazon, and Starbucks. According to an article written on January 5th by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions organization and an article written by The Washington Post titled “We condemn Project Nimbus,” Google and Amazon brokered a $1.2 billion contract with Israel that would help provide networks, software, and internet to the Israeli military. The money they receive from Google and Amazon help build their military who end up being on the front lines of this genocide.
Starbucks is a company that has not spoken out against the genocide. The Starbucks Workers United uploaded a post in support of Palestine. This prompted Starbucks to file a lawsuit against Workers United because they said the post was ruining their reputation and costing them customers. As a result, Palestine-supporters around the world have boycotted Starbucks for its lack of support for Palestine.
Those who have boycotted Starbucks have found it difficult to find other coffee shops that will satisfy their cravings although there are many coffee shops that not only support Palestine, but also have amazing options for coffee. In San Diego, there are three main coffee shops that can prove to be an alternative to Starbucks. The three coffee shops are the Palestinian Coffee Company, Finjan Coffee Co., and Philz Coffee.
Twenty percent of the profits that the Palestinian Coffee Company makes goes to the Palestine Children Relief Fund. They don’t have a lot of options for coffee served to-go but they do sell coffee pods that you can take home to make your own coffee. Of course, many individuals prefer to have something they can take on the go instead of pods, so the other two options for coffee are Finjan Coffee Co. and Philz Coffee. The Finjan Coffee Co. has espresso and cold brew, but they specialize in Turkish coffee. They also have Arab desserts such as Knafeh and Baklawa. Their prices are cheaper than Starbucks in that their coffee ranges from $3-5. Finally, Philz Coffee, founded by Phil Jaber who is Palestinian, sells various types of blends, teas, and desserts ranging from $5-6.
There are many options around San Diego that prove to be a great alternative to Starbucks and at the same time their proceedings go towards a good cause. So, if you want to boycott, go ahead, because it doesn’t mean you will be deprived of your favorite coffee.
