Walmart is not currently operating physical retail locations in Israel and has declared that it is not seeking to enter the Israeli retail industry at present. Instead of creating stores in Israel, Walmart has focused on the acquisition of Israeli technology companies in order to enhance its retail and online stores internationally. Instead of establishing a physical presence in Israel, Walmart has been collaborating with Israeli ventures in terms of logistics, artificial intelligence, and virtual fitting rooms and has acquired Israeli technology, including Aspectiva and Zeekit, to ensure the international customer journey is up to scratch.
Walmart neither provides a concrete statement nor any utterance to the public that it directly finances the Israeli government or military, and this raises the question to wonder whether or not the company has any political or financial interest in Israel beyond its business. Walmart has been reported to have even confirmed that it was slated to offer one million dollars to the victims of the Israeli conflicts and condemned Hamas after recent violence, but is said to be declining to contribute to those who help the victims of Gaza. Others consider that Walmart is also taking sides in the war on the Palestinian side as a result of its politics or charitable interests. This has resulted in calls for boycotts of Walmart by groups that favor Palestinian rights.
Historical background
Sam and James “Bud” Walton created the worldwide retail giant Walmart in 1962. The company’s first location opened its doors in Rogers, Arkansas. Based on Walton’s approach of high sales volume with low profit margins, it started as a cheap department store with lower pricing than rivals. Walmart became one of the biggest retailers in the world in terms of both revenue and store count after expanding quickly both domestically and abroad over the years. Walmart has a very extensive division of retail formats that includes warehouse clubs named Sam’s Club, supercenters, and discount stores.
With an ample choice of consumer products to sell at low prices, hundreds of thousands of employees, and thousands of outlets across the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, Walmart was now proving successful. Walmart’s goal is to provide value to its consumers all over the world while also helping people save money and live better lives. Additionally, it has entered many foreign markets, although it hasn’t set up shop in every nation. Walmart makes investments in technology and logistics innovation outside of retail, including digital commerce and collaborations with IT entrepreneurs.
Boycott campaign
Walmart is also an object of activism and boycotts, which mostly aim at it because of other reasons, including labor standards, pricing policy, and the conduct of the company in the United States, but not necessarily because of its Israel policy. Occasionally, leftist groups such as The People’s Union USA orchestrate Walmart boycotts that revolve around issues that do not factor in geopolitics, like the effects on the small business community and the treatment given to the workers. Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) is a target of corporations that are helping Israel in military or apartheid affairs, and it is a continuation of a corporate boycott. Walmart is not one of the immediate targets of boycotts that have been identified by the BDS movement; it is focusing on businesses that are more directly associated with Israeli settlements or selling arms.
What do the acts and donations of Walmart have to do with its policy towards Israel?
Later in late 2023, the Walmart Foundation donated 1 million dollars towards MDA, the national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance, and blood bank service of Israel. This donation happened because it is a humanitarian disaster that occurred in the wake of Hamas attacks against Israel, which led to the loss of several lives and the kidnapping perpetrated by Hamas.
In a memo to its employees, Walmart condemned the bombings as inhuman and horrible, and it stressed the importance of the work that MDA is undertaking in giving such medical aid. This million-dollar pledge showed good values of humanitarianism, where people are dealing with victims of the local crisis zone by contributing to emergency services that are saving lives in Israel. Walmart has not only helped its Israeli employees by offering them working-at-home opportunities and meal services but also by ensuring that they overcome the psychological and practical impact of the crisis through counseling.
Walmart did not only do charitable activities in Israel. As part of their contribution to those who have been affected at both ends of the war, the Walmart Foundation also donated 1 million to Direct Relief, a non-profit organization that provides vital humanitarian assistance to people in Gaza in the face of mounting violence and the developments toward a truce. This shows that Walmart is trying to solve the humanitarian problems in the region, not only on a partisan level but overall.
Further, Walmart has also shown greater corporate interest in assisting the communities affected by violence and historical disasters with its charity work, now extending to other topical sorts of action, humanitarian and memorial ones, through a donation of 1 million to the US Holocaust Museum.
Walmart has continued to have a presence in Israel with Walmart Global Tech, where Israelis work, and where Walmart also pursues investments into Israeli technology startups, despite these grants and statements. When analyzing the nature of Walmart’s support, it can be noted that beyond the humanitarian relief, the corporate social responsibility of its family of global employees appears to be the most focused area, rather than a direct political allegiance and contribution to the Israeli state funds or military.
Those who advocate Palestinian rights have taken Walmart to task for its support of humanitarian projects associated with Israel. As an example, activists protest against the donations made by Walmart and highlight the services of the company to some controversial Israeli groups through the sale of certain products. Instead of harping on political positions, Walmart’s public relations has been directing its aid to emergency medical services and international norms of humanity.
How do Walmart’s actions compare with other US companies’ support for Israel?
Such companies as McDonald’s have been indulging in blatant moves, including providing free meals to Israeli soldiers. These are acts that are more relatable to the Israeli military or government. Thus, there is a clear political aftermath of such acts, which have resulted in enormous boycotts both internally within the Middle East as well as internationally. Big tech companies (such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft) have good economic relationships with Israel, as they have investments and research and development, as well as large operations there. These corporations have, however, faced criticism or actions by activists in a few of them that have been party to partnerships with the Israeli government or military.
Political affinity has caused boycotts of companies like Starbucks when it merely implies or is founded on donations it makes to various organizations in the US. A great majority of American firms strive to be politically neutral in their external relations, but activists are trying to pressure them by monitoring their supply chains, contributions, and even public statements to find any sign of clear or hidden support of Israel and its course. Boycotts include specific American companies (which Walmart has nothing to do with) due to relationships that these companies have with the Israeli settlements or providers of weaponry.
Conclusion
Walmart is different in that it practices a bipartisan approach to the political and humanitarian aspects of a situation by providing an equal measure of humanitarian aid to Israeli and Palestinian victims. Other leading American corporations have adopted more militarily or politically oriented approaches, and sometimes they receive even tougher criticism and organized boycotts. Despite the implicit endorsements of pro-Israel and pro-Palestine participants, Walmart can afford to be less involved by focusing on humanitarian assistance and non-direct interaction between businesses and the Israeli government or settlement groups.
